Tennis-Raducanu overcomes the fear of needles to cope with a back injury to French Open

(Reuters) – The former US Open Champion Emma Raducanu has overcome its needle phobia to reduce a back injury at the French Open before their first round game against China's Wang Xinyu on Monday.

The 22-year-old suffered a back cramp at the Grand Prix of Strasburger at the beginning of this week and had confronted a similar problem before this year's Australian Open. According to Raducanu, the drying needle and heat therapy has contributed to alleviating it.

The British reached the second round in her last appearance of Roland Garros three years ago before underwent in a wrist and ankle surgery in 2023.

“It feels okay, it doesn't feel 100% yet, but we are working on it. I have a few more days,” Raducanu told BBC Sport. “I would say that before Australia was worse. I feel the way I somehow caught before it is fully locked up.

“At the beginning of the year I was so afraid of needles. It was my biggest phobia. Since then I have dipped my toes in my toes because I know that it helps even though I'm really afraid of them. So I tried to do it.”

During the ClayCourt season, Raducanu reached the last 16 of the Italian Open, where she lost to the later second-placed Coco Gauff. In the second round of the Madrid, she fell openly to the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.

(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editor of Christopher Cushing)