Emma Raducanu’s 202-day tennis absence pays off as comeback confirmed
Emma Raducanu has finally confirmed her return to competition at the United Cup after spending months sidelined by a shin injury. The 23-year-old will represent Team GB along with British No. 1 Arthur Fery, and they face France and Australia in the group stages at the beginning of January. Raducanu has not played a match since she lost the Queen’s final to Donna Vekic in mid-June. She subsequently pulled out of Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament and has given little updates on her comeback since.
But Raducanu’s lengthy absence has paid off, as she has spent enough time sidelined by injury to get a protected ranking. This is offered to players who have been out for six months, and is based on their ranking before their absence. It can be used to enter up to eight tournaments, including two Grand Slams.
Raducanu currently sits at No. 107 in the world this week, but entered the United Cup with a protected ranking of No. 38, high enough to get into the main draw of any big tournament. It’s likely she will use this to enter the Australian Open.
The former US Open champion will face France’s Diane Parry in her comeback match on January 2 – 202 days after she lost in the Queen’s final. Britain then takes on Australia on January 3, so Raducanu will be up against Talia Gibson.
As well as Raducanu and Fery, Britain will also be represented by Jan Choinski and Francesca Jones, and doubles stars Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls. They will face a strong French team, led by world No. 7 Arthur Fils.
Fils is joined by three top-100 WTA players, Parry, Leolia Jeanjean, and Fiona Ferro. Top-20 ATP doubles star Manuel Guinard and world No. 444 Geoffrey Blancaneaux are also in the squad.
The Australian squad features Rinky Hijikata, who recently stunned Novak Djokovic at the Paris Masters, plus world No. 36 Gibson. Daria Saville is also set to make a comeback at the United Cup after giving birth earlier this year.
Like Raducanu, she’s entered using a protected ranking. Alex Bolt and doubles stars Marc Polmans and Ellen Perez are also on the team.
United Cup ties feature two singles matches, one men’s and one women’s, before a mixed doubles rubber. There are six groups, competing across Sydney and Perth. Team GB is part of Group D, playing in Sydney.
The winners of Group D will play their quarter-final on January 8. But the best runner-up team across the three groups in Sydney also advance to the quarters. All teams then come together in Sydney for the semi-finals and finals.
