Former Wimbledon Champ Reveals “Encouraging” Signs About Emma Raducanu’s Game Ahead of Wimbledon

Emma Raducanu is set to enter Wimbledon following her run at the Queen’s Club Championships. The British star is likely not to play in any further tournaments ahead of the Grand Slam event. Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has revealed that there were great signs of improvement in Raducanu’s performance in London.

Raducanu reached the final of the Queen’s Club Championships last week, defeating Sorana Cirstea and Iva Jovic en route to the championship match. However, she fell to Donna Vekic in the championship match in straight sets. She was meant to compete at the Berlin Tennis Open but pulled out of the event due to a niggle.

However, before the Queen’s Club Championships, Raducanu had struggled with form on the court. She finished the clay-court season without a win on the surface and was heavily criticized after exiting the first round of the French Open. She played in just two tournaments on clay; the Strasbourg Open and Roland Garros and didn’t claim any victory.

She had suffered a viral illness at the Miami Open, which forced her to withdraw from several tournaments. Nonetheless, returning from a long spell due to illness led to fewer expectations about her performance, but that changed immediately after the Queen’s Club Championships, as she’s now one of the home favorites to win Wimbledon.

Also, Raducanu has reached two finals this season, which is more than she has since 2022. That shows a great sign of improvement in her game, but she will have to reflect during big tournaments. Speaking to Sky Sports, Bartoli pointed out that Raducanu showed encouraging signs of improvement during the Queen’s Club Championships:

The way she managed to beat Iva Jovic, specifically in the Queen’s semifinal, playing extremely aggressive tennis—the kind of tennis that actually led her to win the US Open—was incredibly encouraging for me. You can see she came back to the court fighting to be physically ready. Yes, she fell a little short in the final, but to achieve something like that right before Wimbledon should be very encouraging for her.

Raducanu has never gone past the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championship. She first reached the round of 16 in 2021 on her debut but was forced to retire during her match against Ajla Tomljanović. In 2024, she reached the fourth round but lost to qualifier Lulu Sun in a tight three-set match.

Rennae Stubbs admits her lack of understanding of criticism for Emma Raducanu’s frequent change of coaches

Emma Raducanu recently reunited with her former coach, Andrew Richardson. Richardson played a major part in her 2021 US Open victory as a qualifier. The British star has been coached by more than five coaches since then, including Rafael Nadal’s ex-coach Francisco Roig, who is currently coaching Iga Swiatek.

Raducanu has been criticized for not having a long-term coach in her career. Several critics have highlighted that the frequent change of her coaches has led to a lack of consistent performance on the court. In a conversation on Rennae Stubbs’ podcast, Rennae Stubbs admitted she couldn’t understand why Raducanu was criticized for changing coaches:

OK, she’s changed coaches here and there, and, you know, maybe people judge her on that. But I think it’s a lot of times because she’s such a smart player and such a smart person in general. I think she probably hears some of the stuff that these coaches tell her, and she’s probably like, What? That doesn’t make sense to me.

Raducanu has been praised for bringing back Andrew Richardson to her team despite their fallout in 2021. The 23-year-old will hope that the British coach will help her play at her best and win titles, particularly Grand Slam trophies.

Also Read: Paula Badosa Overcome By Emotions After Beating Coco Gauff at the Berlin Tennis Open