Emma Raducanu counselled by Jessica Pegula ahead of rehab battle following surgery - 'Embrace the suckiness'
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Published 10/05/2023 at 11:35 GMT
Emma Raducanu faces a summer on the sidelines with injuries to both hands and an ankle problem leaving her French Open and Wimbledon prospects in tatters. Raducanu could also miss this year’s US Open which begins on August 28 and could tumble down the WTA rankings. Jessica Pegula urged the 20-year-old Brit to stay strong mentally to tackle her rehabilitation battle.
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Jessica Pegula is encouraging Emma Raducanu to relish her rehabilitation battle that lies ahead after undergoing surgeries in recent days.
The Britain No. 1 decided to go under the knife to sort out a recurring issues in both hands as well as an ankle injury, leaving her place in both the French Open and Wimbledon highly unlikely.
Pegula has a proven track record of recovering from several injuries to her knee and hip, and offered some encouraging words to the 2021 US Open winner.
“I would say definitely for me it was a time I definitely learned a lot about myself. If you want to keep playing, how hard do you want to come back, stuff like that,” Pegula said, per Tennis365.
“Also spending days in rehab for months on end, which she’s going to have a lot of, it’s really tough mentally. I think you just have to kind of embrace the suckiness of it because it’s not fun. Anyone that tries to tell you it’s fun, it’s not.
“You just have to kind of embrace the aspect of 'I’m going to grind this out. It’s not going to be the most fun, but I have to find ways to get through it and appreciate that I’m able to go through this rehab and find other ways to get better.'”
Announcing the news of her impending lay-off in a heartfelt post on social media, Raducanu said: "It is safe to say the last 10 months have been difficult as I dealt with a recurring injury on a bone of both hands.
"I tried my best to manage the pain and play through it for most of this year and end of last year by reducing practice load dramatically, missing weeks of training as well as cutting last season short to try [to] heal it. Unfortunately, it’s not enough.
"I’m having a minor procedure done on both hands to resolve the issues. I’m disappointed to share that I will be out for the next few months and while I am at it will have another minor procedure that is due on my ankle.
"It pains me that I will miss the summer events and I tried to downplay the issues so I thank all my fans who continued to support me when you did not know the facts.
"Looking forward to seeing you all back out there."
Raducanu could also miss this year’s US Open which begins on August 28, and faces the prospect of tumbling down the WTA rankings.
She is currently ranked 103rd and is set to fall further in the next few months, meaning a return to action at Flushing Meadows becomes all the more important.
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