Emma Raducanu Told What She Must Do To Be Able To Win Another Grand Slam on Tour

Former coach Mark Petchey believes Emma Raducanu can win more Grand Slam titles if she changes something about her game. The British coach believes that if Raducanu stops worrying about her critics, she will be able to win another major title in the future, ahead of the Wimbledon Championship.

Raducanu has been one of the few players in the women’s circuit who have been most criticized every single year. Since triumphing at the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, her career took a different direction than what she had expected. With fame came more criticism as she failed to reach expectations after winning at Flushing Meadows.

The British No.1 suffered injuries and underwent surgeries that saw her miss a huge part of the 2023 season, but on her return to the court, she was harshly criticized each time she failed to perform well on the court. This year, she has made a big progress in her game but has been far from consistent.

The 23-year-old has reached two finals on tour this season, the same number as Coco Gauff, but has also been criticized for not winning them. She lost to Sorana Cirstea in the final of the Transylvania Open in February and recently fell to Donna Vekic at the Queen’s Club Championships in London.

She’s set to play at Wimbledon, a home tournament, where she often produces some of her best tennis. But she’s not amongst the favorites despite being British No.1. Speaking to Sky Sports at the All England Club, Petchey believes that for Raducanu to win her second Grand Slam, she needs to do small things extraordinarily:

In the glare of the spotlight, with everything that came – everyone would have done the same, but they say they wouldn’t have done the same. That’s the thing that I find really hard, the cognitive dissonance from people. She can win another one for sure, I’ve always believed that about her. If she can find a way to just do the ordinary in an extraordinary way, every single day, and not look for a shortcut back to where she was in ’21, she’ll be fine.

Raducanu’s best run since winning the US Open in 2021 is reaching the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships in 2024. She was projected to reach the later stages of the tournament after Iga Swiatek’s early exit and Aryna Sabalenka‘s absence, but she lost to Lulu Sun in the round of 16.

Mark Petchey gives his take on Emma Raducanu reuniting with Andrew Richardson

Emma Raducanu reunited with Andrew Richardson in April. Richardson led her to her only title at the 2021 US Open, but they parted ways a few months after that. Raducanu opted to hire more experienced coaches in the women’s circuit, but she never had a long-term partnership with any of them.

Her last partnership was with Iga Swiatek’s current coach, Francisco Roig, which lasted for just six months. Mark Petchey, who coached Raducanu at this time last year, revealed to the aforementioned publication that the British star will have a great partnership with Richardson on tour:

There’s so many things I love about it. We obviously had a conversation because my situation was never really going to change and she needed to find somebody. And I think going back to what she remembers as an amazing time of her life is perfect, and I think it will be very positive for her. I think they will have a great relationship.

In two months with Richardson, Raducanu has already reached one final. He will now hope to lead her to more titles this season. Raducanu is projected to face Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon, which will be a rematch of last year’s clash, which the Belarusian star won in three sets.

Also Read: Jannik Sinner Optimistic About Wimbledon Defense After First Match in London Heatwave: “That’s Exactly What I Need”