Emma Raducanu needs to build her career from scratch believes former British No. 1 Johanna Konta as the former US Open champ remains inactive since April

Emma Raducanu was the first qualifier (male or female) to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era. The British player instantly rose to fame with her surprise win at the 2021 US Open. Since then, Raducanu has struggled with form and injuries. As a result, the 2021 champion has withdrawn from the upcoming US Open too. The Brit has undergone surgery on her ankle and both wrists, due to which she has fallen out of the top 100.

Former British No. 1 Johanna Konta shared words of wisdom for her British counterpart, who’s preparing to make her comeback. In an interview with ‘EXPRESS, Konta shared what Emma Raducanu needed to do to return to her best after having surgery. Talking about Raducanu’s return, Konta said, “So I think more than anything, it’s about now building her career, not rebuilding.”

Sharing her optimism for the Grand Slam champion’s return, Konta remarked, “She is now in a position where she can just build out her physicality, her emotional, mental side that comes along with that and I think we’ll see now hopefully a really good, solid career from her.”

Konta believes that Raducanu, who has finally returned to the practice court, has a unique chance to rebrand herself after the surgeries. Talking about the path forward for Raducanu physically, former World No. 4 further added, “I think right now it’s definitely going to be baby steps more than anything because physically she needs to rebuild and not just rebuild, but build her base.”

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Johanna Konta believes that Emma Raducanu wasn’t able to come to grips with her US Open win

Johanna Konta believes that Emma Raducanu’s surprise US Open win propelled the 20-year-old to a place she hadn’t been able to get to grips with. Konta believed that Raducanu’s win was unpredictable and unexpected. Raducanu’s US Open triumph came in just her fourth-ever professional tournament.

Talking about the mental and physical toll on Emma after the title, Konta said, “I think what was found after was physically, emotionally and mentally she was playing catch-up with the success she achieved that maybe she wasn’t as prepared for.”

Raducanu has also struggled with picking a settled coaching team. The US Open champion has changed several coaches through the course of her career.

With that being said, Raducanu would hope that she can return to the tour soon after her return to the practice courts. This week, Emma dropped to the 186th rank in the WTA rankings. 

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