Raducanu withdraws from yet another event - this time due at the Madrid Open due to a hand injury. She managed just 58 words at her press conference yesterday to 16 questions when she said that they are "managing" the injury but, clearly, she's not recovered and faces the prospect of dropping out of the top 100. Whether the hand injury is the real reason or not for her withdrawal, given the tough matches she would have faced in the first two rounds, I really do not think that she is in the right frame of mind to play on the tennis circuit at the moment. Perhaps she needs six months away from the game to gather her thoughts and fitness and decides what she really wants. She is young enough to do so.
Success came to this young lady virtually overnight,within a short time span,she went from small paydays to untold riches,easily earnt just by smiling for the cameras.I dont know,but if I could earn a fortune and not have to put in the daily slog of training to be a top athlete,what do you do.I hope she gets her tennis together and chooses this path because she is a great natural talent,and we the british public need someone to cheer at Wimbledon etc,but it does seem odd the amount of injuries she gets for one so young.
I hate how everyone assumes on this thread they know what's going on with Emma, equally whether she needs time away from the game. Unless you know her personally or are part of her set up, i don't think anyone here has the expertise to judge.
I hate how everyone assumes on this thread they know what's going on with Emma, equally whether she needs time away from the game. Unless you know her personally or are part of her set up, i don't think anyone here has the expertise to judge.
Pathetic
Why do you think that it's pathetic? It's not as if you have never had an opinion on someone or their ability is it or their form? Has anyone called you pathetic for doing so?
I can't stand all but one of the candidates, i watch it but through gritted teeth. All of them are so fake, dumb and just make it harder to watch. Add to the Karen Brady who really grates on me, so i have no reason why i am still watching it? but i will see it out being so far near the end.
So how intimately do you know these candidates? Apart from watching them on TV for an hour a week? You don't but you formed a view. I've not sought to slag Raducanu off unlike yourself with those candidates.
Is it not obvious from the number of times that she has been injured, left matches in the middle, the number of coaches she has had and what some of those have said plus that press conference yesterday that she isn't in a good frame of mind?
The words I actually used were "Perhaps she needs six months away from the game to gather her thoughts and fitness and decides what she really wants. She is young enough to do so." Many tennis players have done so and some such as Hingis and Navratilova retired and came back to win.
For the record, though, I know someone of exactly the same age who has gone through a similar crisis. The best thing for that person was to take time out, decide whether they want to go through the daily grind of professional sport. It was like a treadmill that person didn't feel they could get off and wasn't sure that they had the desire for it anymore. They came back much better for it. And I will tell you one thing for an absolute fact. It was a lot harder to make that decision to take time off than it was to carry on.
So aren't I allowed to suggest that, based on what I've seen from her on and off the court and the close experience of someone that went through something very similar that, perhaps, she needs time out?
I hate how everyone assumes on this thread they know what's going on with Emma, equally whether she needs time away from the game. Unless you know her personally or are part of her set up, i don't think anyone here has the expertise to judge.
Pathetic
Why do you think that it's pathetic? It's not as if you have never had an opinion on someone or their ability is it or their form? Has anyone called you pathetic for doing so?
I can't stand all but one of the candidates, i watch it but through gritted teeth. All of them are so fake, dumb and just make it harder to watch. Add to the Karen Brady who really grates on me, so i have no reason why i am still watching it? but i will see it out being so far near the end.
So how intimately do you know these candidates? Apart from watching them on TV for an hour a week? You don't but you formed a view. I've not sought to slag Raducanu off unlike yourself with those candidates.
Is it not obvious from the number of times that she has been injured, left matches in the middle, the number of coaches she has had and what some of those have said plus that press conference yesterday that she isn't in a good frame of mind?
The words I actually used were "Perhaps she needs six months away from the game to gather her thoughts and fitness and decides what she really wants. She is young enough to do so." Many tennis players have done so and some such as Hingis and Navratilova retired and came back to win.
For the record, though, I know someone of exactly the same age who has gone through a similar crisis. The best thing for that person was to take time out, decide whether they want to go through the daily grind of professional sport. It was like a treadmill that person didn't feel they could get off and wasn't sure that they had the desire for it anymore. They came back much better for it. And I will tell you one thing for an absolute fact. It was a lot harder to make that decision to take time off than it was to carry on.
So aren't I allowed to suggest that, based on what I've seen from her on and off the court and the close experience of someone that went through something very similar that, perhaps, she needs time out?
It's just classic, we know best culture. Your reference to Karen Brady, is my opinion and not actually me giving any advice or saying she should do this..
Yes we are all entitled to opinions, however going on this thread since the downfall of Emma (interesting wording i suppose). I do think firstly people always seem to know best, when no-one really knows here. Equally she is getting criticised for being injury prone (not directly you but has been) which is something which can't really be helped.
I hope her fortunes change whether that means a break or managing her schedule, i don't actually know lol
Suggest/ Opinions away, but if its a shitty opinion (in my view) i will say so
She was massively overhyped after the US Open win and I wonder how much effect this has had on her career? She's set up for life financially and has a massive media profile but the tennis seems to have stalled.
I hate how everyone assumes on this thread they know what's going on with Emma, equally whether she needs time away from the game. Unless you know her personally or are part of her set up, i don't think anyone here has the expertise to judge.
Pathetic
Why do you think that it's pathetic? It's not as if you have never had an opinion on someone or their ability is it or their form? Has anyone called you pathetic for doing so?
I can't stand all but one of the candidates, i watch it but through gritted teeth. All of them are so fake, dumb and just make it harder to watch. Add to the Karen Brady who really grates on me, so i have no reason why i am still watching it? but i will see it out being so far near the end.
So how intimately do you know these candidates? Apart from watching them on TV for an hour a week? You don't but you formed a view. I've not sought to slag Raducanu off unlike yourself with those candidates.
Is it not obvious from the number of times that she has been injured, left matches in the middle, the number of coaches she has had and what some of those have said plus that press conference yesterday that she isn't in a good frame of mind?
The words I actually used were "Perhaps she needs six months away from the game to gather her thoughts and fitness and decides what she really wants. She is young enough to do so." Many tennis players have done so and some such as Hingis and Navratilova retired and came back to win.
For the record, though, I know someone of exactly the same age who has gone through a similar crisis. The best thing for that person was to take time out, decide whether they want to go through the daily grind of professional sport. It was like a treadmill that person didn't feel they could get off and wasn't sure that they had the desire for it anymore. They came back much better for it. And I will tell you one thing for an absolute fact. It was a lot harder to make that decision to take time off than it was to carry on.
So aren't I allowed to suggest that, based on what I've seen from her on and off the court and the close experience of someone that went through something very similar that, perhaps, she needs time out?
It's just classic, we know best culture. Your reference to Karen Brady, is my opinion and not actually me giving any advice or saying she should do this..
Yes we are all entitled to opinions, however going on this thread since the downfall of Emma (interesting wording i suppose). I do think firstly people always seem to know best, when no-one really knows here. Equally she is getting criticised for being injury prone (not directly you but has been) which is something which can't really be helped.
I hope her fortunes change whether that means a break or managing her schedule, i don't actually know lol
Suggest/ Opinions away, but if its a shitty opinion (in my view) i will say so
I have no problem whatsoever with the challenging of my opinion. I did not say that I know best or that she had to do it but I suggested that "perhpas" she should take a break. It's the "pathetic" bit that riles me because you do not know my sporting background and what I have witnessed in my lifetime.
My father played football in Hungary at the time of Puskas My mother was a coach in gymnastics My cousin played football for Honved, the best Hungarian football team at the time during a period when Hungary were a world renowned side. My sister was a national gymnast and later in life became an international indoor rower My only niece was a national swimmer My only nephew crewed as cox for one of the Cambridge University crews My youngest son played tennis 'til he was 12 and trained at the same centre (Bromley) as Radacanu and regularly played in the Kent Open but he then chose to concentrate on his cricket, played for Kent from 11 to 18 and was put on standby to keep wicket for the first team during covid. He also took up table tennis as a winter sport and to improve his reactions at the age of 15 and won a Kent county tournament when he was 16. He has played with and against some of the best club cricketers here and in Australia, State and County cricketers and a few internationals too. He will continue on that path until he either makes it or decides that it is time to give that dream up. And that will be his decision and his decision alone.
I only made the level of South London Alliance Premier League as a footballer and was a third team cricketer, much to the disappointment of my father. But that is irrelevant to what my experience was of seeing the my sister (who is seven years younger than me) having to training and compete six days a week and what my son has had to go through with his sport. The meltdowns, the self doubt, the injuries (my son chose to keep with a broken thumb in the semi final of a National Cup competition and then had to take six weeks out) and the grind. The tears. The "I don't want to do this anymore" even though it is your passion. It is soul destroying for not just the individual but for those close to them too to see their loved one going through that.
That is why I suggested that "perhaps" she needs time away from the sport. Because it is a treadmill that is so difficult to get off once you are on. But the biggest difference between my sister, my son and Radacanu (apart from the obvious different level of success they've achieved) is that it is that much harder for her to step away. Why? Because she has sponsors that are paying her millions to play and be a success. They do not want to be paying that sort of money for someone who isn't even in the top 100 in the world. Radacanu knows that so she probably feels that she is "pot committed" to carry on training and playing even if her body and mind clearly says that she is in no position to give her best. That unbelievable pressure and anything less than her best will not be good enough. So, perhaps, she has to break that vicious circle and give her body and mind time to recover by doing something totally different for a period of time.
So, as I say, everyone is entitled to their opinion. It is calling a poster "pathetic" when the signs to that contributor is recognisable as someone who isn't performing to their best, is constantly injured, breaking down during matches, is not engaging with those that interview her but most of all is just so obviously miserable. Show me a top sports person at any level who hasn't gone through some level of crisis in their career and I will show you a liar. It is just that they deal with it in different ways and if what they are doing isn't working then they have to do something that is as far removed from tennis as possible even if that is doing nothing for a while. As they say, "a break is as good as a rest" and that applies in sport as much as any other walk in life. Radacanu is "lucky" in the respect that she can afford financially to do so but unlucky because it is the success of her tennis that she probably feels defines her. Not the trappings that came as a result of winning the US Open. And that is really tough from a mental perspective.
She was massively overhyped after the US Open win and I wonder how much effect this has had on her career? She's set up for life financially and has a massive media profile but the tennis seems to have stalled.
That's a bit unfair. The issue with Emma isn't that she can't be bothered or isn't talented, it's that she can't cope physically.
Partially that's down to having a normal childhood, where instead of living for tennis, she went to school and thus doesn't have the thousands of hours of tennis other players have had at that age, but as time goes on if things don't improve then it's possible that he doesn't have the body to cope with playing professional sport.
She was massively overhyped after the US Open win and I wonder how much effect this has had on her career? She's set up for life financially and has a massive media profile but the tennis seems to have stalled.
That's a bit unfair. The issue with Emma isn't that she can't be bothered or isn't talented, it's that she can't cope physically.
Partially that's down to having a normal childhood, where instead of living for tennis, she went to school and thus doesn't have the thousands of hours of tennis other players have had at that age, but as time goes on if things don't improve then it's possible that he doesn't have the body to cope with playing professional sport.
She was massively overhyped however you look at it - that's not her doing but all the media attention and acclaim must have an effect on her. I don't think I have said anything contentious.
Such a level of public scrutiny so quickly must be hard to deal with. It happened almost overnight.
She is undoubtedly a very talented and intelligent young woman.
This article comes from The Times tennis correspondent, Stuart Fraser, who has followed her around the world and provides a decent insight into Radacanu and why she is where she is right now. He highlights the need for Raducanu to have a period of rest to allow her wrist injury to recover rather than "managing it". That would also allow her to get away from the daily grind and clear her head.
Three weeks after winning the 2021 US Open to become a grand-slam champion at the age of 18, Emma Raducanu should still have been on cloud nine when she arrived in the Californian desert to prepare for her first appearance at the prestigious Indian Wells Open. Such was her rapid rise to prominence that this tournament in effect marked the start of her career on the regular WTA Tour.
Instead, several figures allowed within the inner sanctum of the locker room noted with surprise how glum Raducanu looked considering what she had just achieved. Even at this early stage it appeared as if she was already heavily burdened by the dramatic changes in her life. Bear in mind that only four months previously she was an unknown teenager sitting her A-level exams at Newstead Wood, a grammar school in Orpington, southeast London.
With hindsight, it was an ominous indication of what was to come. Raducanu has never truly looked comfortable on the tour, only winning three consecutive matches at two of the 26 tournaments she has contested since that memorable fortnight at Flushing Meadows 19 months ago. No doubt she is far more talented than her projected world ranking of No 101 would suggest, but it cannot be argued that this is anything other than an accurate reflection of her present level of play.It must be acknowledged that Raducanu has been beset by a series of physical problems. There is barely a part of her body left that has not been the cause of a retirement or a withdrawal. In October she hired Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer Jez Green as a consultant in a bid to become more robust, only to turn her ankle in the first tournament of the 2023 season.Yet there has also been a series of missteps, for which those around her must also take some responsibility. It still beggars belief that Raducanu did not retain the services of Andrew Richardson, the coach who helped guide her to US Open glory, until at least the end of the 2021 season. He may not have been the right candidate for a long-term partnership because of his lack of top-level experience, but it verged on disrespect to dismiss him so quickly. As a result, Raducanu did not have the necessary balance surrounding her when she turned up in Indian Wells. After she tamely lost in the first round, I was one of a small group of British reporters who were taken aback when she issued a plea through us for potential mentors to contact her. Initially we collectively laughed in the belief that it was a lighthearted comment. “I wasn’t joking; if anyone knows any experienced coaches . . .” she replied.It is only in recent months that there has been stability in her coaching set-up with Sebastian Sachs. Torben Beltz, a respected German who helped Angelique Kerber to world No 1, was sacked in April 2022 after only five months working with Raducanu. After playing at Wimbledon without an established replacement, she worked with Dmitry Tursunov for two months before the Russian vaguely cited “red flags that just couldn’t be ignored” as a reason for his decision to leave her team.There have long been raised eyebrows within British tennis circles about the involvement of Raducanu’s father Ian. In truth, no one outside the Raducanu camp can legitimately claim they have full knowledge of his influence. But it is unusual for a parent to turn up alongside their daughter at training sessions for the Great Britain Billie Jean King Cup team. Much has understandably been made of Raducanu’s nine commercial deals, brokered by her management company IMG, and the distractions that a portfolio worth £15 million may cause. Her agent Max Eisenbud has always insisted that this requires Raducanu to dedicate no more than 18 days of time a year to her sponsorship demands.Of more surprise to this correspondent is some of the advice offered around scheduling and media appearances. For someone who is clearly not quite at home on the individual tour, it is curious that she has skipped the opportunity twice this year to play in a fun team environment, with her fellow Britons, at the United Cup mixed event in Australia and Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against France in Coventry.Insisting during a press conference in Indian Wells last month that she did not know the date for the latter was a clumsy and foolish attempt to avoid revealing that she was not going to appear. It clearly caused a mixture of embarrassment and anger to the British captain, Anne Keothavong, who had given up time with her young family to travel out to the tournament.Until this point, Raducanu had generally been candid and expansive during her chats with the media. A clear sign of the recent strain she is under came on Tuesday when, unusually, she could muster no more than 58 words in response to 16 questions from British reporters.There is, of course, no specific blueprint for Raducanu and her team to follow. While there have been several teenage grand-slam champions, most have had some experience of the main tour before claiming a major trophy. Boris Becker, for example, was already ranked No 20 when he won Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 1985. Raducanu was ranked No 150 when she arrived in New York two years ago.In the short term, however, it seems clear that Raducanu requires a period of rest to give her right wrist a chance to recover. Attempts at “managing it” while continuing to play have not worked, resulting in practice sessions that have been of little use.Perhaps then it is better to skip the rest of the clay-court season and return fit and reinvigorated for the British grass-court season, where Raducanu can play in front of adoring home crowds at the likes of Wimbledon and Edgbaston. Grass is a surface that better suits her attacking game.Should Raducanu have failed to improve her ranking by the end of the US Open in September, she might be better advised competing against lower-ranked opposition in second-tier ITF events to build up some momentum. The challenge is that her marketability will always result in wild card offers, testing her resolve. One high-profile tournament director told The Times this week that she could potentially receive invites on the main tour for another five years, providing that she was not ranked outside the top-300.To be clear, there is still plenty of time on her side. While it does represent a fall from grace to have a three-figure ranking beside her name less than two years after that famous US Open run, there are few in tennis who do not believe that Raducanu will climb back up the rankings at some point.
I hate how everyone assumes on this thread they know what's going on with Emma, equally whether she needs time away from the game. Unless you know her personally or are part of her set up, i don't think anyone here has the expertise to judge.
Pathetic
Why do you think that it's pathetic? It's not as if you have never had an opinion on someone or their ability is it or their form? Has anyone called you pathetic for doing so?
I can't stand all but one of the candidates, i watch it but through gritted teeth. All of them are so fake, dumb and just make it harder to watch. Add to the Karen Brady who really grates on me, so i have no reason why i am still watching it? but i will see it out being so far near the end.
So how intimately do you know these candidates? Apart from watching them on TV for an hour a week? You don't but you formed a view. I've not sought to slag Raducanu off unlike yourself with those candidates.
Is it not obvious from the number of times that she has been injured, left matches in the middle, the number of coaches she has had and what some of those have said plus that press conference yesterday that she isn't in a good frame of mind?
The words I actually used were "Perhaps she needs six months away from the game to gather her thoughts and fitness and decides what she really wants. She is young enough to do so." Many tennis players have done so and some such as Hingis and Navratilova retired and came back to win.
For the record, though, I know someone of exactly the same age who has gone through a similar crisis. The best thing for that person was to take time out, decide whether they want to go through the daily grind of professional sport. It was like a treadmill that person didn't feel they could get off and wasn't sure that they had the desire for it anymore. They came back much better for it. And I will tell you one thing for an absolute fact. It was a lot harder to make that decision to take time off than it was to carry on.
So aren't I allowed to suggest that, based on what I've seen from her on and off the court and the close experience of someone that went through something very similar that, perhaps, she needs time out?
It's just classic, we know best culture. Your reference to Karen Brady, is my opinion and not actually me giving any advice or saying she should do this..
Yes we are all entitled to opinions, however going on this thread since the downfall of Emma (interesting wording i suppose). I do think firstly people always seem to know best, when no-one really knows here. Equally she is getting criticised for being injury prone (not directly you but has been) which is something which can't really be helped.
I hope her fortunes change whether that means a break or managing her schedule, i don't actually know lol
Suggest/ Opinions away, but if its a shitty opinion (in my view) i will say so
I have no problem whatsoever with the challenging of my opinion. I did not say that I know best or that she had to do it but I suggested that "perhpas" she should take a break. It's the "pathetic" bit that riles me because you do not know my sporting background and what I have witnessed in my lifetime.
My father played football in Hungary at the time of Puskas My mother was a coach in gymnastics My cousin played football for Honved, the best Hungarian football team at the time during a period when Hungary were a world renowned side. My sister was a national gymnast and later in life became an international indoor rower My only niece was a national swimmer My only nephew crewed as cox for one of the Cambridge University crews My youngest son played tennis 'til he was 12 and trained at the same centre (Bromley) as Radacanu and regularly played in the Kent Open but he then chose to concentrate on his cricket, played for Kent from 11 to 18 and was put on standby to keep wicket for the first team during covid. He also took up table tennis as a winter sport and to improve his reactions at the age of 15 and won a Kent county tournament when he was 16. He has played with and against some of the best club cricketers here and in Australia, State and County cricketers and a few internationals too. He will continue on that path until he either makes it or decides that it is time to give that dream up. And that will be his decision and his decision alone.
I only made the level of South London Alliance Premier League as a footballer and was a third team cricketer, much to the disappointment of my father. But that is irrelevant to what my experience was of seeing the my sister (who is seven years younger than me) having to training and compete six days a week and what my son has had to go through with his sport. The meltdowns, the self doubt, the injuries (my son chose to keep with a broken thumb in the semi final of a National Cup competition and then had to take six weeks out) and the grind. The tears. The "I don't want to do this anymore" even though it is your passion. It is soul destroying for not just the individual but for those close to them too to see their loved one going through that.
That is why I suggested that "perhaps" she needs time away from the sport. Because it is a treadmill that is so difficult to get off once you are on. But the biggest difference between my sister, my son and Radacanu (apart from the obvious different level of success they've achieved) is that it is that much harder for her to step away. Why? Because she has sponsors that are paying her millions to play and be a success. They do not want to be paying that sort of money for someone who isn't even in the top 100 in the world. Radacanu knows that so she probably feels that she is "pot committed" to carry on training and playing even if her body and mind clearly says that she is in no position to give her best. That unbelievable pressure and anything less than her best will not be good enough. So, perhaps, she has to break that vicious circle and give her body and mind time to recover by doing something totally different for a period of time.
So, as I say, everyone is entitled to their opinion. It is calling a poster "pathetic" when the signs to that contributor is recognisable as someone who isn't performing to their best, is constantly injured, breaking down during matches, is not engaging with those that interview her but most of all is just so obviously miserable. Show me a top sports person at any level who hasn't gone through some level of crisis in their career and I will show you a liar. It is just that they deal with it in different ways and if what they are doing isn't working then they have to do something that is as far removed from tennis as possible even if that is doing nothing for a while. As they say, "a break is as good as a rest" and that applies in sport as much as any other walk in life. Radacanu is "lucky" in the respect that she can afford financially to do so but unlucky because it is the success of her tennis that she probably feels defines her. Not the trappings that came as a result of winning the US Open. And that is really tough from a mental perspective.
Its a fair argument, also i understand your point. However i wasn't really directing it at you specifically here, although it might have seemed as much. As a whole since her win and then failure/ demise/ whatever you want to call it, people in here have been very forefront with opinions on it without knowing the back story or just making judgements.
You no doubt have alot of background in sports, but again that doesn't mean to say you know, equally its just an opinion that she should take a break so i respect that.
Tennis a side she is fighting a losing battle at the moment, she is struggling to get fit enough to compete and obviously she hasn't been helped with her quick rise to the top. I'd even liken it to a certain Anna K who was always in the limelight, its going to be tougher but if she can get her injuries sorted or under some form of control then hopefully its not a one off (as suggested mostly in this thread). Personally i just want her to do well for her own MH and just to shut up a few people, but it does seem a long way away.
anyway, my original point was more people are quick to come up with suggestions or what she should be doing.
I appreciate your response and the time it has taken and i respect that.
This article comes from The Times tennis correspondent, Stuart Fraser, who has followed her around the world and provides a decent insight into Radacanu and why she is where she is right now. He highlights the need for Raducanu to have a period of rest to allow her wrist injury to recover rather than "managing it". That would also allow her to get away from the daily grind and clear her head.
Three weeks after winning the 2021 US Open to become a grand-slam champion at the age of 18, Emma Raducanu should still have been on cloud nine when she arrived in the Californian desert to prepare for her first appearance at the prestigious Indian Wells Open. Such was her rapid rise to prominence that this tournament in effect marked the start of her career on the regular WTA Tour.
Instead, several figures allowed within the inner sanctum of the locker room noted with surprise how glum Raducanu looked considering what she had just achieved. Even at this early stage it appeared as if she was already heavily burdened by the dramatic changes in her life. Bear in mind that only four months previously she was an unknown teenager sitting her A-level exams at Newstead Wood, a grammar school in Orpington, southeast London.
With hindsight, it was an ominous indication of what was to come. Raducanu has never truly looked comfortable on the tour, only winning three consecutive matches at two of the 26 tournaments she has contested since that memorable fortnight at Flushing Meadows 19 months ago. No doubt she is far more talented than her projected world ranking of No 101 would suggest, but it cannot be argued that this is anything other than an accurate reflection of her present level of play.
It must be acknowledged that Raducanu has been beset by a series of physical problems. There is barely a part of her body left that has not been the cause of a retirement or a withdrawal. In October she hired Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer Jez Green as a consultant in a bid to become more robust, only to turn her ankle in the first tournament of the 2023 season.
Yet there has also been a series of missteps, for which those around her must also take some responsibility. It still beggars belief that Raducanu did not retain the services of Andrew Richardson, the coach who helped guide her to US Open glory, until at least the end of the 2021 season. He may not have been the right candidate for a long-term partnership because of his lack of top-level experience, but it verged on disrespect to dismiss him so quickly.
As a result, Raducanu did not have the necessary balance surrounding her when she turned up in Indian Wells. After she tamely lost in the first round, I was one of a small group of British reporters who were taken aback when she issued a plea through us for potential mentors to contact her. Initially we collectively laughed in the belief that it was a lighthearted comment. “I wasn’t joking; if anyone knows any experienced coaches . . .” she replied.
It is only in recent months that there has been stability in her coaching set-up with Sebastian Sachs. Torben Beltz, a respected German who helped Angelique Kerber to world No 1, was sacked in April 2022 after only five months working with Raducanu. After playing at Wimbledon without an established replacement, she worked with Dmitry Tursunov for two months before the Russian vaguely cited “red flags that just couldn’t be ignored” as a reason for his decision to leave her team.
There have long been raised eyebrows within British tennis circles about the involvement of Raducanu’s father Ian. In truth, no one outside the Raducanu camp can legitimately claim they have full knowledge of his influence. But it is unusual for a parent to turn up alongside their daughter at training sessions for the Great Britain Billie Jean King Cup team.
Much has understandably been made of Raducanu’s nine commercial deals, brokered by her management company IMG, and the distractions that a portfolio worth £15 million may cause. Her agent Max Eisenbud has always insisted that this requires Raducanu to dedicate no more than 18 days of time a year to her sponsorship demands.
Of more surprise to this correspondent is some of the advice offered around scheduling and media appearances. For someone who is clearly not quite at home on the individual tour, it is curious that she has skipped the opportunity twice this year to play in a fun team environment, with her fellow Britons, at the United Cup mixed event in Australia and Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against France in Coventry.
Insisting during a press conference in Indian Wells last month that she did not know the date for the latter was a clumsy and foolish attempt to avoid revealing that she was not going to appear. It clearly caused a mixture of embarrassment and anger to the British captain, Anne Keothavong, who had given up time with her young family to travel out to the tournament.
Until this point, Raducanu had generally been candid and expansive during her chats with the media. A clear sign of the recent strain she is under came on Tuesday when, unusually, she could muster no more than 58 words in response to 16 questions from British reporters.
There is, of course, no specific blueprint for Raducanu and her team to follow. While there have been several teenage grand-slam champions, most have had some experience of the main tour before claiming a major trophy. Boris Becker, for example, was already ranked No 20 when he won Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 1985. Raducanu was ranked No 150 when she arrived in New York two years ago.
In the short term, however, it seems clear that Raducanu requires a period of rest to give her right wrist a chance to recover. Attempts at “managing it” while continuing to play have not worked, resulting in practice sessions that have been of little use.
Perhaps then it is better to skip the rest of the clay-court season and return fit and reinvigorated for the British grass-court season, where Raducanu can play in front of adoring home crowds at the likes of Wimbledon and Edgbaston. Grass is a surface that better suits her attacking game.
Should Raducanu have failed to improve her ranking by the end of the US Open in September, she might be better advised competing against lower-ranked opposition in second-tier ITF events to build up some momentum. The challenge is that her marketability will always result in wild card offers, testing her resolve. One high-profile tournament director told The Times this week that she could potentially receive invites on the main tour for another five years, providing that she was not ranked outside the top-300.
To be clear, there is still plenty of time on her side. While it does represent a fall from grace to have a three-figure ranking beside her name less than two years after that famous US Open run, there are few in tennis who do not believe that Raducanu will climb back up the rankings at some point.
Good post, interesting insight too thanks for sharing.
Raducanu to miss Wimbledon following ankle and hand surgery. I hope that the break will give her the time she needs to get both her body and mind in the right place and that she comes back stronger. It is important that she does so when she is ready to do so.
Raducanu to miss Wimbledon following ankle and hand surgery. I hope that the break will give her the time she needs to get both her body and mind in the right place and that she comes back stronger. It is important that she does so when she is ready to do so.
Doesn't sound great - maybe physically her body is not up to it.
Raducanu to miss Wimbledon following ankle and hand surgery. I hope that the break will give her the time she needs to get both her body and mind in the right place and that she comes back stronger. It is important that she does so when she is ready to do so.
I did see her post on twitter yesterday where she was in hospital and had wrote a letter, i was going to share on here but forgot, Hopefully she can recover and come back stronger than ever, time will tell..
Raducanu to miss Wimbledon following ankle and hand surgery. I hope that the break will give her the time she needs to get both her body and mind in the right place and that she comes back stronger. It is important that she does so when she is ready to do so.
I did see her post on twitter yesterday where she was in hospital and had wrote a letter, i was going to share on here but forgot, Hopefully she can recover and come back stronger than ever, time will tell..
She has plenty of options in her life - it's not defined by tennis. Hopefully she can climb back up the rankings.
If Murray can win the final, he’d jump to close to top 40. And with no clay season points he has to defend, there’s a very real chance he could end up in the top 32 by the time Wimbledon comes around.
If Murray can win the final, he’d jump to close to top 40. And with no clay season points he has to defend, there’s a very real chance he could end up in the top 32 by the time Wimbledon comes around.
Would be fantastic to see him seeded.
Up to 48th in rankings - pretty impressive. Clay is his worst surface.
He received 175 points for winning the Challenger event. He has 206 points to make up with what are effectively free hits at the Rome Masters and Roland Garros (or any other Challenger events he chooses to participate in).
Comments
I think he has a chance of a grand slam final if the cards fall for him without a doubt.
Pathetic
I can't stand all but one of the candidates, i watch it but through gritted teeth. All of them are so fake, dumb and just make it harder to watch. Add to the Karen Brady who really grates on me, so i have no reason why i am still watching it? but i will see it out being so far near the end.
So how intimately do you know these candidates? Apart from watching them on TV for an hour a week? You don't but you formed a view. I've not sought to slag Raducanu off unlike yourself with those candidates.
Is it not obvious from the number of times that she has been injured, left matches in the middle, the number of coaches she has had and what some of those have said plus that press conference yesterday that she isn't in a good frame of mind?
The words I actually used were "Perhaps she needs six months away from the game to gather her thoughts and fitness and decides what she really wants. She is young enough to do so." Many tennis players have done so and some such as Hingis and Navratilova retired and came back to win.
For the record, though, I know someone of exactly the same age who has gone through a similar crisis. The best thing for that person was to take time out, decide whether they want to go through the daily grind of professional sport. It was like a treadmill that person didn't feel they could get off and wasn't sure that they had the desire for it anymore. They came back much better for it. And I will tell you one thing for an absolute fact. It was a lot harder to make that decision to take time off than it was to carry on.
So aren't I allowed to suggest that, based on what I've seen from her on and off the court and the close experience of someone that went through something very similar that, perhaps, she needs time out?
Yes we are all entitled to opinions, however going on this thread since the downfall of Emma (interesting wording i suppose). I do think firstly people always seem to know best, when no-one really knows here. Equally she is getting criticised for being injury prone (not directly you but has been) which is something which can't really be helped.
I hope her fortunes change whether that means a break or managing her schedule, i don't actually know lol
Suggest/ Opinions away, but if its a shitty opinion (in my view) i will say so
My father played football in Hungary at the time of Puskas
My mother was a coach in gymnastics
My cousin played football for Honved, the best Hungarian football team at the time during a period when Hungary were a world renowned side.
My sister was a national gymnast and later in life became an international indoor rower
My only niece was a national swimmer
My only nephew crewed as cox for one of the Cambridge University crews
My youngest son played tennis 'til he was 12 and trained at the same centre (Bromley) as Radacanu and regularly played in the Kent Open but he then chose to concentrate on his cricket, played for Kent from 11 to 18 and was put on standby to keep wicket for the first team during covid. He also took up table tennis as a winter sport and to improve his reactions at the age of 15 and won a Kent county tournament when he was 16. He has played with and against some of the best club cricketers here and in Australia, State and County cricketers and a few internationals too. He will continue on that path until he either makes it or decides that it is time to give that dream up. And that will be his decision and his decision alone.
I only made the level of South London Alliance Premier League as a footballer and was a third team cricketer, much to the disappointment of my father. But that is irrelevant to what my experience was of seeing the my sister (who is seven years younger than me) having to training and compete six days a week and what my son has had to go through with his sport. The meltdowns, the self doubt, the injuries (my son chose to keep with a broken thumb in the semi final of a National Cup competition and then had to take six weeks out) and the grind. The tears. The "I don't want to do this anymore" even though it is your passion. It is soul destroying for not just the individual but for those close to them too to see their loved one going through that.
That is why I suggested that "perhaps" she needs time away from the sport. Because it is a treadmill that is so difficult to get off once you are on. But the biggest difference between my sister, my son and Radacanu (apart from the obvious different level of success they've achieved) is that it is that much harder for her to step away. Why? Because she has sponsors that are paying her millions to play and be a success. They do not want to be paying that sort of money for someone who isn't even in the top 100 in the world. Radacanu knows that so she probably feels that she is "pot committed" to carry on training and playing even if her body and mind clearly says that she is in no position to give her best. That unbelievable pressure and anything less than her best will not be good enough. So, perhaps, she has to break that vicious circle and give her body and mind time to recover by doing something totally different for a period of time.
So, as I say, everyone is entitled to their opinion. It is calling a poster "pathetic" when the signs to that contributor is recognisable as someone who isn't performing to their best, is constantly injured, breaking down during matches, is not engaging with those that interview her but most of all is just so obviously miserable. Show me a top sports person at any level who hasn't gone through some level of crisis in their career and I will show you a liar. It is just that they deal with it in different ways and if what they are doing isn't working then they have to do something that is as far removed from tennis as possible even if that is doing nothing for a while. As they say, "a break is as good as a rest" and that applies in sport as much as any other walk in life. Radacanu is "lucky" in the respect that she can afford financially to do so but unlucky because it is the success of her tennis that she probably feels defines her. Not the trappings that came as a result of winning the US Open. And that is really tough from a mental perspective.
Partially that's down to having a normal childhood, where instead of living for tennis, she went to school and thus doesn't have the thousands of hours of tennis other players have had at that age, but as time goes on if things don't improve then it's possible that he doesn't have the body to cope with playing professional sport.
Such a level of public scrutiny so quickly must be hard to deal with. It happened almost overnight.
She is undoubtedly a very talented and intelligent young woman.
Three weeks after winning the 2021 US Open to become a grand-slam champion at the age of 18, Emma Raducanu should still have been on cloud nine when she arrived in the Californian desert to prepare for her first appearance at the prestigious Indian Wells Open. Such was her rapid rise to prominence that this tournament in effect marked the start of her career on the regular WTA Tour.
Instead, several figures allowed within the inner sanctum of the locker room noted with surprise how glum Raducanu looked considering what she had just achieved. Even at this early stage it appeared as if she was already heavily burdened by the dramatic changes in her life. Bear in mind that only four months previously she was an unknown teenager sitting her A-level exams at Newstead Wood, a grammar school in Orpington, southeast London.
With hindsight, it was an ominous indication of what was to come. Raducanu has never truly looked comfortable on the tour, only winning three consecutive matches at two of the 26 tournaments she has contested since that memorable fortnight at Flushing Meadows 19 months ago. No doubt she is far more talented than her projected world ranking of No 101 would suggest, but it cannot be argued that this is anything other than an accurate reflection of her present level of play.It must be acknowledged that Raducanu has been beset by a series of physical problems. There is barely a part of her body left that has not been the cause of a retirement or a withdrawal. In October she hired Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer Jez Green as a consultant in a bid to become more robust, only to turn her ankle in the first tournament of the 2023 season.Yet there has also been a series of missteps, for which those around her must also take some responsibility. It still beggars belief that Raducanu did not retain the services of Andrew Richardson, the coach who helped guide her to US Open glory, until at least the end of the 2021 season. He may not have been the right candidate for a long-term partnership because of his lack of top-level experience, but it verged on disrespect to dismiss him so quickly.As a result, Raducanu did not have the necessary balance surrounding her when she turned up in Indian Wells. After she tamely lost in the first round, I was one of a small group of British reporters who were taken aback when she issued a plea through us for potential mentors to contact her. Initially we collectively laughed in the belief that it was a lighthearted comment. “I wasn’t joking; if anyone knows any experienced coaches . . .” she replied.It is only in recent months that there has been stability in her coaching set-up with Sebastian Sachs. Torben Beltz, a respected German who helped Angelique Kerber to world No 1, was sacked in April 2022 after only five months working with Raducanu. After playing at Wimbledon without an established replacement, she worked with Dmitry Tursunov for two months before the Russian vaguely cited “red flags that just couldn’t be ignored” as a reason for his decision to leave her team.There have long been raised eyebrows within British tennis circles about the involvement of Raducanu’s father Ian. In truth, no one outside the Raducanu camp can legitimately claim they have full knowledge of his influence. But it is unusual for a parent to turn up alongside their daughter at training sessions for the Great Britain Billie Jean King Cup team.
Much has understandably been made of Raducanu’s nine commercial deals, brokered by her management company IMG, and the distractions that a portfolio worth £15 million may cause. Her agent Max Eisenbud has always insisted that this requires Raducanu to dedicate no more than 18 days of time a year to her sponsorship demands.Of more surprise to this correspondent is some of the advice offered around scheduling and media appearances. For someone who is clearly not quite at home on the individual tour, it is curious that she has skipped the opportunity twice this year to play in a fun team environment, with her fellow Britons, at the United Cup mixed event in Australia and Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against France in Coventry.Insisting during a press conference in Indian Wells last month that she did not know the date for the latter was a clumsy and foolish attempt to avoid revealing that she was not going to appear. It clearly caused a mixture of embarrassment and anger to the British captain, Anne Keothavong, who had given up time with her young family to travel out to the tournament.Until this point, Raducanu had generally been candid and expansive during her chats with the media. A clear sign of the recent strain she is under came on Tuesday when, unusually, she could muster no more than 58 words in response to 16 questions from British reporters.There is, of course, no specific blueprint for Raducanu and her team to follow. While there have been several teenage grand-slam champions, most have had some experience of the main tour before claiming a major trophy. Boris Becker, for example, was already ranked No 20 when he won Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 1985. Raducanu was ranked No 150 when she arrived in New York two years ago.In the short term, however, it seems clear that Raducanu requires a period of rest to give her right wrist a chance to recover. Attempts at “managing it” while continuing to play have not worked, resulting in practice sessions that have been of little use.Perhaps then it is better to skip the rest of the clay-court season and return fit and reinvigorated for the British grass-court season, where Raducanu can play in front of adoring home crowds at the likes of Wimbledon and Edgbaston. Grass is a surface that better suits her attacking game.Should Raducanu have failed to improve her ranking by the end of the US Open in September, she might be better advised competing against lower-ranked opposition in second-tier ITF events to build up some momentum. The challenge is that her marketability will always result in wild card offers, testing her resolve. One high-profile tournament director told The Times this week that she could potentially receive invites on the main tour for another five years, providing that she was not ranked outside the top-300.To be clear, there is still plenty of time on her side. While it does represent a fall from grace to have a three-figure ranking beside her name less than two years after that famous US Open run, there are few in tennis who do not believe that Raducanu will climb back up the rankings at some point.
You no doubt have alot of background in sports, but again that doesn't mean to say you know, equally its just an opinion that she should take a break so i respect that.
Tennis a side she is fighting a losing battle at the moment, she is struggling to get fit enough to compete and obviously she hasn't been helped with her quick rise to the top. I'd even liken it to a certain Anna K who was always in the limelight, its going to be tougher but if she can get her injuries sorted or under some form of control then hopefully its not a one off (as suggested mostly in this thread). Personally i just want her to do well for her own MH and just to shut up a few people, but it does seem a long way away.
anyway, my original point was more people are quick to come up with suggestions or what she should be doing.
I appreciate your response and the time it has taken and i respect that.
Final against Tommy Paul. Useful ranking points.
Would be fantastic to see him seeded.
First victory since 2019.👍
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42. Andy Murray (965 pts)
He received 175 points for winning the Challenger event. He has 206 points to make up with what are effectively free hits at the Rome Masters and Roland Garros (or any other Challenger events he chooses to participate in).