Emma Raducanu put in an encouraging performance in a three-set loss to Elina Svitolina but sparked fresh injury fears as she wilted in the latter stages.
When Raducanu emerged on Thursday with heavy straps around her right thigh, fans would be forgiven for thinking: here we go again. But those concerns were allayed as she showed no sign of discomfort for over two hours. In fact, she looked sharper than during her first-round win to take on former world No. 3 Svitolina. But as things started to unravel in the decider, Raducanu started clutching her lower back in concern.
The hope will be that it was just a sign of fatigue, but it raised new questions about how her body will develop on the comeback trail, after eight months of rehabilitation and three surgeries last year on both wrists and an ankle.
This 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 defeat had more positives to offer Raducanu than negatives, but perhaps two hours and 48 minutes were too much of a physical test after another long game earlier in the week.
It was a huge shame because for two highly competitive sets, Raducanu provided a brilliant reminder of how well she is able to hang with the best in the game.
Second seed Svitolina is by far the player in better form as she made a remarkable comeback herself last season, with runs to the quarter-finals and semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, just months after giving birth to a daughter.
Former US Open champion Raducanu did a phenomenal job fending off this new and improved version of the Ukrainian in the early stages. After storming to a 5-1 lead in the first set, Raducanu's mental strength was on display as she remained calm as Svitolina upped her game, completing five games in a row. The Brit then forced the tiebreak and hit two clutch drop shots to take the first set.
Raducanu had said before the match that she had "nothing to lose" and she played like it. She hit 19 winners and nine unforced errors in the 71-minute first set, showing the packed Auckland crowd just how well she can shoot a forehand.
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The second set was equally competitive, with Raducanu improving her net play and showing surprising match sharpness. She was even ahead 3-1 in the second set tiebreak, but a handful of unfortunate mistakes forced Svitolina's decision.
From there, Svitolina raced to the finish, winning five games in a row, and it was early in the third set that Raducanu began to slow down and appeared to have back pain. Svitolina was ultimately a deserved winner, with a whopping 52 winners and 26 unforced errors, and she advances to the quarter-finals where she will play Marie Bouzkova on Friday.
These first two matches for Raducanu have been hugely impressive in terms of her tennis level, and the hope will be that her physical problems are not serious when she heads to the Australian Open on January 14.
The jury is still out on whether Raducanu's body is up to the task
If Emma Raducanu wanted to know if she could still play like a top 30 player, she now knows for sure that she can. As for whether her body is up to the task, the jury is still out.
Raducanu's first two matches in eight months were promising from a tennis perspective, especially on Thursday against Elina Svitolina. She played more than two hours of dynamic and challenging tennis against an opponent who reached the final stages of two majors last year. Like Tuesday, she also showed tenacity when momentum shifts went against her, even taking the first set in a tiebreak after losing an early lead.
Her mix of power and smart shot selection was particularly impressive, and she was more proactive in hitting big shots than in the first round, especially on the forehand.
Although Raducanu did not win the match, she came very close and all indications are that she will be a real threat in the Australian Open draw.
But once again the physical question that haunted Raducanu's career emerged. She arrived with heavy bands on her thigh and appeared to experience back pain late in the match. Both were stark reminders of how an unreliable body has held her back so far in her young career.
A spate of persistent injuries has limited her progress since her famous US Open victory. Raducanu has barely been able to play consecutive tournaments for most of the past two seasons due to her body's weakness, forcing her to withdraw from six matches since her breakthrough win at Wimbledon in 2021.
Initially, this was attributed to her being so suddenly catapulted to the top of tennis. Without a few years of building her body's resilience at lower-level events, the physical demands of playing the best players week in and out were understandably a shock to the system. That, perhaps combined with constant adjustments to her coaching team, made her body less robust.
She made the decision to take drastic but necessary action last May and underwent three procedures to remove bony spurs from both wrists, as well as surgery on one ankle. The many months she spent rehabilitating and rebuilding her body were difficult, but provided her with the rare opportunity to build a solid foundation.
The hope had been that such an extensive training block would prove transformative for her body, but things did not go smoothly. She suffered a minor injury setback in the fall that took her off the training field again and curiously chose not to hire an individual fitness coach, despite consulting with external candidates.
The latest concerns about her physical condition need not cause panic. It's quite normal not to be match fit after so long on the sidelines, especially when both of her matches lasted a third of an hour. It could only be the pain of fatigue that got Raducanu into trouble late in the loss to Svitolina.
She also has 10 days to fully recover before the Australian Open. Raducanu is currently not competing in any tournaments next week and is expected to head straight to Melbourne for a week or so of preparation with Jane O'Donoghue, her youth coach who accompanied her to Auckland.
Her expectations will be measured: a decent draw plus some positive experience on the competition field in Melbourne will feel like a win no matter how far she progresses. The most important thing is whether she can escape injury-free, as this is just the first step in a long climb back up the tennis ladder.
