Former Grand Slam Finalist Thinks Emma Raducanu Made Biggest Mistake After Becoming Superstar: “Didn’t Help Her”

Emma Raducanu went from zero to superstar after becoming the US Open champion in 2021. She came as a qualifier, and after progressing to the main draw, she ended up reaching the final. En route to her successful run, she didn’t drop a set.

But since that fairytale run, Raducanu has failed to reach a final. In the Miami Open this year, the Brit reached the quarterfinals, losing in three sets against eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula. It was the first time since that US Open run that Raducanu was successful in winning four consecutive matches in a single tournament.

Also, since that run, Raducanu dealt with a great deal of fitness problems as well as form issues, and mid-match retirements became too frequent. The 23-year-old also made a lot of changes to her coaching team, and often her hiring and firing of coaches made headlines. Her frequent coaching changes, according to compatriot Greg Rusedski, are the biggest mistake Raducanu committed. The former Grand Slam finalist said during an interview with Tennis365:

She went from zero to superstar too quickly, and that was a challenge. Raducanu did the hardest thing in tennis first. She won a Grand Slam. That can never be taken away from her.

Raducanu is currently working with Francisco Roig, the former coach of Rafael Nadal, helping the 38-year-old win each of his 22 Grand Slam titles. She hired him ahead of the US Open, where Raducanu lost to Elena Rybakina in the third round.

Then you get astronomical fame and sponsorship that anybody in their right mind would have taken, but the mistake she made was the coaching situation. So many changes didn’t help her. I know this has been said before, but you need consistency in your coach and where you are going. She didn’t have that.

Greg Rusedski added

Raducanu ended her season after her defeat to Zhu Lin in her opening round of the Ningbo Open. The World No.29 had a 28/22 win-loss record this season.

Patrick Mouratoglou thinks Emma Raducanu’s biggest problem is her coaching situation

Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, also shares the same opinion as Greg Rusedski. During his interview with ITV, Mouratoglou said Emma Raducanu needs to trust someone for a long time in order to build something solid in her game.

I think [she had had] way too many coaches working with her. I think if you look at all the very successful tennis players, you need to follow a path for a few years to build yourself through a project. Whenever you change coaches, you change your project. If you change your project every six months, it’s too difficult.

To prioritize working with Francisco Roig and further develop her game, Raducanu chose to skip the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. She took the wild card for the Korea Open, where 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova knocked her out in three sets in the fourth round.

Raducanu was next scheduled to play an exhibition match along with Carlos Alcaraz in the United States later this month. But due to a foot niggle, she has decided to withdraw from it. Raducanu had partnered with Alcaraz in the revamped US Open mixed doubles, where the pair lost to Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper in the first round.

In Grand Slam events this year, Raducanu failed to progress beyond the third round. She reached the third round of every Major except the French Open, where her campaign ended in the second round. Since her 2021 US Open win, Raducanu produced her best performance in a Grand Slam when she reached the fourth round of the 2024 Wimbledon.

Also read: Toni Nadal Reveals Key Difference Between the Eras of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz

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