Emma Raducanu is “feeling good” ahead of the Australian Open as she banished fitness doubts in an optimistic pre-tournament press conference.

World No 60 Raducanu faces 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round of her Melbourne campaign, a challenging—but not impassable—test for the Brit.

The Brit has been training in Melbourne for over a week, having withdrawn from the Auckland Open due to injury.

There were concerns for Raducanu following what appeared to be the latest injury setback, and the Brit approaches the first major of 2025 having not played a match in 2025.

But, speaking in Melbourne on Friday, the 22-year-old confirmed she had recovered from a back spasm and was feeling confident head of action Down Under.

“I’ve been feeling good. I think the last 10 days I’ve had a positive block of training,” she said.

“Coming back on the court, adapting to the conditions here has been good for me. Two weeks ago I’d say I had to pull out of Auckland because I just wasn’t ready.

“I had a bit of a niggle that happened pretty randomly – I couldn’t prevent it. [Now] I feel good and I feel ready to give it my best here.

“I had a really good block of training in London before Billie Jean King Cup [in November] and after the tie, pretty much going straight back into it.

“One morning [I] was warming up, bent over to tie my laces, and I had a spasm. That was really it. It took a while to clear.”

Raducanu’s build-up to the Australian Open is not too dissimilar to her US Open preparation last season, where the Brit did not play for almost a month before action in New York.

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A lack of matchplay ultimately proved costly, with the former US Open winner beaten in the opening round by Sofia Kenin.

However, the 22-year-old believes she is better prepared to compete than she was at Flushing Meadows last August.

Raducanu added: “I think the difference between this and the US Open is before the US Open I hadn’t actually trained at all really – but I’ve been putting in really good work.

“This week I’ve been playing sets with top players. I’m feeling like I’m holding my own more than okay in those instances and practices.

“I feel pretty good with my game. Yeah, I’m looking forward to putting it on the match court.”

Raducanu will hope her long-term fitness improves under Yutaka Nakamura, a renowned fitness coach she hired during the off-season.

The Brit revealed that her new trainer had already made a strong impact despite only recently joining her team.

“I think having him in my camp has been a really good addition. I think he’s helped me a lot just in terms of microdosing bits the fitness here and there throughout the day, tapering, managing my loads.

“I’m someone who is always going to want to push more, train more, do more. Sometimes actually having him to adapt the exercises or pull me back has been helpful.

“I think he’s also a really committed person, someone who is quite reliable, as well. Every day I know that there’s not really going to be any major surprises coming my way.

“He’s just been obviously with a lot of experienced and top players. So having that and his belief and confidence in me, has helped a lot.”

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