British tennis player Emma Raducanu put her injury woes behind her as she made a winning return to the 2023 Australian Open with a first-round defeat of Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch.
Raducanu defeated Korpatsch 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets at the 1573 Arena in Melbourne Park as she begins a hunt for her first Grand Slam title of the year.
The British number one was doubtful for the opening Grand Slam of the year after injuring her ankle in a warm-up event at the ASB Classic in New Zealand earlier this month.
The 20-year-old, who recently hired a new fitness coach, Jez Green, revealed she worked hard in the off-season on developing her body to cope with the severity of the new season.
However, the current world no. 77 will face American sensation and seventh seed Coco Gauff in the second round.
Gauff, just 18 years old, is tipped as one of the favourites to win the women’s singles at Melbourne Park. She didn’t disappoint in her opening match as she ran to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.
The first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, began in the early hours of today and will run until January 29, with the certainty of crowning a new women’s singles champion after 2022 winner Ashleigh Barty shockingly retired in March 2022 at the age of 26.
