"A lot to be grateful for" - Emma Raducanu shares highlights from her 21st birthday celebrations; reflects on "challenging year"

Emma Raducanu called 2023 a "challenging year" while also claiming that she had a lot to be grateful for.

The Brit turned 21 on November 13, and celebrated it at a sushi restaurant. She wrote about the occasion, thanking her fans for wishing her. The 2021 US Open champion also said that while the year was a challenging one for her, she had a lot to be grateful for and was looking forward to the "next chapter"

"Turned 21 with the best love. Thank you so much for all the sweet wishes. regardless of a challenging year there’s a lot to be grateful for. looking forward to the next chapter," Emma Raducanu wrote on Instagram.

Raducanu has been out of action for several months, with her last tournament being the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The Brit had a lot of injury issues and eventually underwent surgery on her ankle and both wrists. She has been recovering ever since, and as a result, missed the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, among other tournaments.

Raducanu recently spoke to fellow British tennis player Laura Robson and said that the recovery process was "slow and repetitive", adding that it was tough not to get bored of it.

"The process is so slow and repetitive," Raducanu said. "Sometimes it's really hard to just not get bored of it and just keep in mind the long-term end goal. And just keeping that in mind just keeps you going even on the days you don't feel like."

The Brit also said that while training was hard at first, she is now in a better place, mentally, to compete than she had ever been since her triumph at the 2021 US Open.

"It was difficult to train. Like for example, if it was just a wrist, you could run or still do other things. So in the beginning, it was very much quite sedentary. I feel like mentally, I'm in a better place to compete now than I ever have been before or since the US Open," the 21-year-old said.

Emma Raducanu won five out of ten matches in 2023

Emma Raducanu in action at the Miami Open

Emma Raducanu had a short 2023 season during which she played only ten matches, winning five.

The Brit's most notable performance this year came at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she reached the fourth round with wins over Danka Kovinic, 20th seed Magda Linette and 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. Here, she was beaten 6-3, 6-1 by top seed Iga Swiatek.

Raducanu's prolonged absence from the WTA Tour has seen her ranking drop to 289th.