Emma Raducanu has said she feels “reborn” as she prepares to make her comeback after ankle and wrist surgeries.

The 21-year-old former US Open champion was sidelined for much of 2023, but she is set to return to action at the Auckland Classic.

“I feel reborn in a way,” Raducanu told reporters ahead of her first-round match.

“I feel fresh, I feel ready, I feel happy and I feel excited.”

It will be her first tournament since April.

Raducanu is now ranked 298th in the world, having slipped from a career high number 10 in July 2022.

But she said she feels freed of the weight of her Flushing Meadows triumph in 2021, when she became the first player in the Open era to win a major after coming through qualifying.

“Overall, I’m feeling positive and lighter,” the Briton said.

“I think that for two years after the US Open I felt maybe a bit more weight on my shoulders, but now I feel completely fresh.”

Raducanu has previously said she “sometimes” wishes she hadn’t won the US Open as a “naive” 18-year-old.

Speaking to the Sunday Times in an article published last June, she said: “I had to mature very quickly. When I won I was extremely naive.”

While Raducanu received a wild card in Auckland, she is still waiting to see whether the same will apply for the Australian Open.

Her protected ranking – given to players who have been sidelined long term – is 103, meaning she’ll likely have to qualify to play in the main draw in Melbourne.

But she said that “doesn’t faze me”.

Raducanu is one of several tennis stars returning to action after long absences.

Rafael Nadal is making his comeback after almost a year out injured – in what may be his last season as a professional.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion is playing at the Brisbane International, a warm-up tournament ahead of the Australian Open.

Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, is also at the Brisbane International preparing for her first competitive match since September last year.

She is making a return after having a baby.

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, starts on 14 January and ends on 28 January.

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