Emma Raducanu claims to have come a long way since last year’s Madrid Open, when she was forced to pull out before having surgery on her wrists and ankle. Frustration for the Brit reached boiling point in the Spanish capital 12 months ago, to the extent that a WTA official opted to cut her surreal pre-tournament press conference short.

‘We are managing it’ is all Raducanu could muster up when asked about her injury issues last year. The press conference lasted less than three minutes, and only 58 words were uttered by the 21-year-old before she made a hasty exit.

It turned out to be her final interview before pulling out in Madrid and opting for surgery which required an extensive period of recovery, leading to eight months out of action. Raducanu heads into this week’s Madrid Open in a much better state.

“This was the last place I came to last year before surgery,” she told Sky Sports. “I pulled out on site, had surgery and then missed the next eight months. Now I have nothing to defend so everything is a gain, everything is a win.

“Thinking about how far I’ve come since last year is a great thing. I think it’s a full-circle moment a year on. We were talking about my last interview in Madrid [in the car]… I think I’ve come a long way since then.

“Obviously, a lot was going on. I knew I was going to have to have surgery. I didn’t want to say anything about it [in the press conference] but I was a bit gutted about that. But yeah, coming here I feel a lot better.

“I’m in a much better place with my tennis. Mentally I feel really confident and I’m just looking forward to the rest of the clay season, to be honest.”