Emma Raducanu says she is injury free and feeling “good” after her exhibition match against Wimbledon runners-up Ons Jabeur in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
The 20-year-old was beaten by Tunisian Jabeur but worked on her fitness ahead of the 2023 season.
Raducanu announced on Friday that she had named the German Sebastian Sachs30 years old, like his new trainer.
“Physically, physically, injury-wise, I’m fine now, I’m clear. Knock on wood, it stays that way,” Raducanu said.
Last year’s US Open champion will attend the World Cup final between Argentina and France in Doha on Sunday before flying to Singapore to resume her pre-season training.
Raducanu’s 2023 tennis campaign begins at the ASB Classic in Auckland on January 2, before heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open two weeks later.
She added: “I’ve been really working on my fitness for the past two months, less on the tennis court. So I’m just trying to feel myself on the court.”
Raducanu said the game against Jabeur was ‘a pretty positive step to see where I am and what I can do better’.
“I really want to work hard, try to get back on the court as much as possible, but I might overdo it if I don’t really think about it because I want to be back on the court so badly,” added the Briton.
“I just need to cut the hours a little bit sometimes.”
One of his “biggest goals” for the season, Raducanu said, was to play freely and “not think” about his physical condition.
“I want to be able to go out there and just focus on tennis,” she said. “I think this year I’m in a better position, but it will still take time to develop fully.
“I think my goal in 2023 is probably to win a title.”
Raducanu also spoke about Sachs, who is his fifth coach in 18 months after Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov. ended their coaching partnership in October.
“We test until the end of the year and see how it really goes,” said Raducanu, 76th.
“It’s going well. I’ve had a week with him so far and I think he has a very calm influence. He’s on it, turned on, and yeah, I’m excited to see how it’s going.”
