"I've got that spark back": Emma Raducanu gears up for US Open 2024 with renewed confidence

Britain’s tennis star Emma Raducanu has stated that she is feeling confident ahead of the US Open 2024. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year will begin from August 26 where players from all over the world will participate and battle to secure the ultimate prize.

Raducanu broke onto the scene in 2021 when she lifted the US Open at the age of just 18. The most impressive aspect of that triumph was the fact that she started the tournament through a qualification round and still went all the way to win the title after beating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3.

Since then, however, not much has gone right with the former world number 10 who has struggled with fitness concerns and was on the sidelines for nearly 12 months in 2023. She returned to the court earlier this year and has produced some impressive performances in the recent past.

Raducanu has recently spoken to Sky Sports in a podcast ahead of the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year where she explained her objectives in the competition. The one-time Grand Slam winners also spoke about how she is playing much better than she was a few months back and that she feels that her ‘spark’ is back.

"I just play so much better when I'm happy and putting my personality out there," she said. “I think I've been playing a lot freer in the last month. I have been expressing myself, I've been fighting and there has been a lot of passion, I've been feisty. And that's me. I'm really tenacious and gritty. I'm a lot better now at just expressing myself. I just feel a real fire back and desire. I've got that spark back which is what I'm most pleased about."