Emma Raducanu admits patience is not one of her strongest skills and that she can panic at times as the 21-year-old discloses she was expected to be back in action four months after her surgeries but hurrying things doubled that time frame and simply pushed her to spend more time at home.

Raducanu revealed that she was having surgery on her left ankle and both wrists when she posted a selfie to Instagram last May while in the hospital. Raducanu didn’t specify when she might return at the time; she just stated that she would miss the French Open and Wimbledon.

But as it became clear that Raducanu also wouldn’t be able to compete at the US Open, that’s when it started becoming evident that her 2023 season was gone. The 2021 US Open champion Raducanu was also able to make her comeback after playing in Auckland during the first week of this year, despite some offseason rumors suggesting that she had suffered a setback in her recuperation and might not be able to begin her comeback at the beginning of the 2024 season.

Raducanu hasn’t suffered any injuries or significant setbacks since then, which is a perfect situation. Although everything worked out in the end, the 21-year-old learned a valuable lesson and realized that sometimes being impatient only makes things worse.

“I believe the most important thing I’ve learned about recovering from injuries is to take your time. My impatience is definitely one of my major downfalls because I basically hastened the process of my rehabilitation, and set myself back many months. I should have been hitting balls after a month and a half, but it took me eight months to get back to playing, and I went seven months without hitting any,” Raducanu told Marie Claire magazine.

Having people who are extremely strict with you when you recover from an injury is crucial, in my opinion. People who actually count every shot they make, making it a scientific endeavor rather than merely an emotional one, because pushing yourself too far can actually cause your body to deteriorate.

Raducanu reveals her ultimate career aspiration.

With Raducanu’s victory at the 2021 US Open, British women’s tennis finally had a Slam champion for the first time since Virginia Wade advanced all the way to Wimbledon in 1977. Raducanu’s main objective now is to win Wimbledon, her home state, and to see another British woman win the championship after almost 50 years.

Raducanu had a great start to this year’s Wimbledon until losing unexpectedly to qualifier Lulu Sun in the round of 16. The 21-year-old British player has now experienced one second-round exit and two round-of-16 exits at The All England Club.

Her immediate objectives, in the meantime, are to just get healthier and do better.

“My ultimate goal is to win Wimbledon.” That’s my number one goal. But in the short term, I just want to keep staying healthy and improving my skills. Working on the actual development of them rather than any immediate results – that’s my priority right now,” Raducanu revealed.

Raducanu: It’s very easy in tennis to panic, and I’m guilty of it…

With his 22nd birthday coming up in November, Raducanu intends to stay active for at least ten more years. And while she is still very young and has a lot of time ahead of her career, there were still moments when she felt like she didn’t have much time left.

“I think it’s very easy in tennis to panic, and I’m guilty of it. You feel like you only have 10 years of your career ahead of you, and that it’s going to be over before you know it. Sometimes 21 feels so old, and then I remember that in the timeline of my career I still have 10 years of slams ahead of me – even 15 if I really want,” Raducanu explained.

“And while it goes by very quickly, I’ve only had three years on tour so far, so there’s a lot more learning and developing to do. There’s also a big chunk of life that happens after tennis. We think when we hit 35, our life is over, but there is so much still to come – many people are just starting their life at that point. So, of course I want to make the most out of the years that I have on tour, but I also need to keep in perspective that there are other things in life than just tennis.”

This Monday, Raducanu gained 20 spots on the WTA rankings list and she is now back to world No. 69 ahead of the US Open.