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Emma Raducanu admitted she was "sad" over not making a deeper Australian Open run but also added she was "grateful" to be able to play her first tournaments back this month.
After months of rehab and recovery, Raducanu launched her post-surgery comeback in New Zealand, where she competed at the ASB Classic in Auckland. In Auckland, Raducanu started with a tight three-set win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse before losing in a three-setter against former world No. 3 Elina Svitolina.
After concluding her Auckland campaign, Raducanu flew to Melbourne, where she also made her Grand Slam return. At the Australian Open, Raducanu made a convincing start, claiming a 6-3 6-2 win over Shelby Rogers in her opener at Melbourne Park.
Following a comfortable win over Rogers, Raducanu suffered a disappointing second-round loss after world No. 94 Wang Yafan upset the Briton 6-4 4-6 6-4. However, it should be mentioned that Raducanu wasn't feeling her during the third set as after the match the Briton revealed that she felt like vomiting and was generally unwell.
"Aus off ct, grateful for my first trip back. I loved seeing you all and the support, thank you. Sad it wasn’t for longer but going up from here," Raducanu wrote on Instagram.
Where Raducanu plays next?
In just over 10 days, Raducanu will be back in action after taking a main draw wildcard into the Abu Dhabi Open earlier this month. In Abu Dhabi - which is slated to take place from February 5-11 - the 21-year-old Briton will be making her main draw debut.
Also, Abu Dhabi will provide Raducanu a great opportunity to further test herself since the tournament is set to feature a strong player field. Among the names confirmed for this year's Abu Dhabi edition are 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur, and world No. 8 Maria Sakkari.
So far, Raducanu is 2-2 since returning to tennis. It will be interesting to see how well Raducanu can do at the start od the Middle East Swing in Abu Dhabi.