Auckland boss makes surprise revelation after Emma Raducanu criticized tournament

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Auckland tournament director Nicolas Lamperin surprisingly reveals Emma Raducanu may return to the ASB Classic in 2024, just a year after heavily criticizing the tournament. Raducanu, 20, started her 2023 season by making her debut in Auckland.

After badly slipping during her Auckland round-of-16 match and leaving the court in tears after sustaining an ankle injury, Raducanu described the Auckland courts as "incredibly slick" and "very slippery." In an interview with Stuff, Auckland tournament director Nicolas Lamperin revealed that the tournament has had some talks with Raducanu over the possibility of her playing in New Zealand again.

“There have been some, but it’s too early to say, because we still don’t have a set return date. The door is open if she wants to come, but we have had to go after other players, with whom we have more certainty.

It’s not off the table, but we’d need more time, because we still don’t know when she’s coming back," Lamperin told Stuff.

Raducanu heavily criticized the Auckland event

Due to the rain, the organizers decided to move some matches to indoors.

Late in the second set against Viktoria Hruncakova, Raducanu badly rolled her ankle and left the court dejected and in tears. “It’s difficult to take. I’ve put a lot of physical work in the last few months and I’ve been feeling good and optimistic.

So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle is pretty disappointing, in the first week as well. I thought I was playing some pretty decent tennis. The courts are incredibly slick, like very slippery, so to be honest it’s not a surprise that this happened to someone.

It’s out of my control and after a very long day of waiting around. But we’ll assess over the next few days and see what the next steps are," Raducanu said after suffering an injury in Auckland earlier this year.