Emma Raducanu undergoing treatment she's terrified of to prevent back problems at French Open
EMMA RADUCANU has prepared for the French Open with acupuncture to prevent back spasms – yet she has a phobia of NEEDLES!
The former US Open champion had emergency back treatment in her last match in Strasbourg and can pinpoint the issue to a flare-up suffered before the Australian Open in January.
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Before playing on clay – a surface which aggravates the problem – she has had very thin needles inserted in her back to help reduce inflammation.
Raducanu, 22, said: 'The one before Australia was worse. I feel like this one I caught before it fully locked up.
'So, the treatment is a lot with the physios, a lot with heat. Been doing some needling.
'At the start of the year I was so scared of needles. It was my biggest phobia.
"That was the only way I was going to be able to play Australia.
'Since then, I've been kind of dipping my toes into it because I know it helps – even though I'm really scared of needles! That's how I've been trying to manage it.
'The back isn't feeling 100%. I've been trying to manage it as best I can.
'I'm trying to do everything to get up to speed as fast as possible.
'Needles are the one thing I've always been really scared of. Also I'm not great in the water, to be honest, with what's underneath!
'If you had seen me in the sea, I'd need goggles when I go swimming, but it's scary because I don't want to see, at the same time, what's under there…'
Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka – the four-time Grand Slam champion – posted on social media that she had a 5am wake-up call in Paris from drug busters, who demanded a blood test at sunrise.
Raducanu said: 'Sometimes it feels like Pin (the tail on) the Donkey because at 6am you're not very hydrated.
'It's like you can't get any blood out – and they have however many attempts. That's a bit difficult.
'We all have to go through it. It's not the most enjoyable thing but it's just part of what we have to do.'
Raducanu, who skipped Roland Garros qualifying 12 months ago, will play China's Wang Xinyu on Monday and the winner will probably then tackle defending champion Iga Swiatek.
In another revelation, the Brit said that when she was 19 – not long after she won the New York Slam – one of her close confidantes branded her weak for not playing through the pain barrier.
Raducanu, ranked 43rd in the world, said: 'I know from personal experience with my wrists, I was struggling for seven months with them before I ended up having surgery.
'I just kept pushing through because people were telling me I wasn't tough enough. Like I needed to work through it.
'I wish I would have listened to myself sooner. I would have saved myself maybe like 8-12 months of struggling, but I guess I can learn from that.'
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