Emma Raducanu is ready for her next challenge at the Hobart Open, a tournament where she will take on the role of top seed for the first time in her career.
According to Tennis uptodate, Raducanu will hold this honour for the first time in her career following the withdrawal of Belgian defending champion Elise Mertens, who, like Raducanu, competed last week at the United Cup.
Mertens’ absence caused significant movement in the draw, and Raducanu was promoted to the No. 1 seeding position.
The 2021 US Open champion will be the favourite to lift the title at a WTA-level tournament for the first time, making this one of the best opportunities of her career to claim a second professional trophy.
Upon her arrival in Hobart, she acknowledged that she still needs a few days to adapt to the change in conditions after travelling from Perth earlier this week.
“I need to get used to the conditions and the courts. In particular, the wind is quite strong here,” she said during her press conference. “So, getting used to that, adjusting the game, probably accepting that you’re not going to feel like you’re hitting the ball amazingly because it’s a lot of adapting and improvising,”
The former world No. 10 added, “But it’s all part of the skill set that you need to play in all types of conditions, so I think it will also be a good test and challenge for that.”
Raducanu has already learned her path in the draw and is expected to make her tournament debut on Monday, 12 January, against Colombia’s Camila Osorio, a former world No. 33.
