Emma Raducanu believes she could be about to return to the levels she reached when she won the US Open three years ago. The young Brit has battled a number of injuries since her remarkable triumph at Flushing Meadows in the summer of 2021.

She has missed a large chunk of the current season due to various setbacks. She recently returned to the court after straining ligaments in her foot at the Korea Open in September, representing Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this month.

Having recovered from her latest injury, Raducanu believes she is in a good position to return to her former levels, showing her steely determination in spite of the challenges she has faced.

“Mentally I feel like I am in a better place to compete now than I ever have been before since the US Open,” she said. “It’s going to probably take me some tournaments to get up to speed but once I do, I think I am in a better headspace to compete now.”

Raducanu has won 21 of her 34 matches over the last year and will head into the 2025 campaign inside the world’s top 60. Only time will tell if she can restore former glories by adding to her Grand Slam tally in the not-too-distant future.

She recently said that she was ‘itching’ to return to the court following Great Britain’s semi-final exit at the Billie Jean King Cup.

“I think traditionally you’d probably have a bit of a break and take a holiday or something, but I feel like I have had four, five weeks off tennis and I don’t really need any more time off,” she explained.

“If anything, I’m excited and just itching to get on the practice court, and of course seeing some of my performances this week, it just incentivises me to do more work.”

Raducanu’s next big test will come at the Australian Open, where she will be hoping to progress beyond the second round for the very first time.

Before travelling to Melbourne, the 22-year-old is expected to kick off her season at the ASB Classic in New Zealand. She impressed during last year’s event but was eventually beaten when she faced Elena Svitolina in the round of 16.

There are several other WTA events running between late December and early January, which Raducanu may be tempted to compete in with the aim of sharpening her skills for the Grand Slam circuit.