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Emma Raducanu bullish on 2025 season after BJK Cup success

Emma Raducanu has said she sometimes needs reminding of her achievements in tennis and claimed that no-one wants to be drawn against her in tournaments as Britain prepare to play Slovakia in the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals.

The 2021 US Open winner has battled several injury issues since her unprecedented success at Flushing Meadows and has struggled to settle on a stable coaching partnership, but looked on the way back to her best in Britain's successes against Germany and Canada last week.

"My assessment is, I think sometimes I need reminding," Raducanu said to the WTA of her 2024 season. "I'm top 60 in the world and I have played less than 15 events, which is pretty unheard of, in a way.

"I have to pat myself on the back for that. I know I'm a dangerous player. I know no-one wants to pull my name in the draw. I take pride in that, and I'm looking forward to hopefully staying on court longer next year."

Raducanu is ranked No. 58 in the world having reached the height of No. 10 in June 2022, and missed a number of tournaments on the WTA's Asia swing after sustaining a foot injury in her Korea Open quarterfinal against Daria Kasatkina in September.

She is keen to make up for lost time after competing for her country this week, with plans to extend her preparation for the Australian Open in January.

"I think traditionally you'd probably have a bit of a break and take a holiday or something," Raducanu said. "But I feel like I have had four, five weeks off tennis, and I don't really need any more time off.

"If anything, I'm excited and just itchy to get on the practice court, and of course seeing some of my performances this week, it just incentivizes me to do more work."

Britain face Slovakia on Tuesday in Malaga, Spain, with a place in the final against either Italy or Poland at stake, and Raducanu is not taking any of her potential opponents lightly having fought hard to win against Jule Niemeier and Canada's Rebecca Marino to reach this stage.

"I'm playing some really tough opponents and not to be underestimated by their rankings on these surfaces, because both are very dangerous," she said. "I'm really pleased with how I fought and how I'm faring up against these top girls. I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot with my tennis right now."