“I didn’t believe in a full-time coach either” John McEnroe discusses Emma Raducanu’s decision to not have a head coach in the French Open
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John McEnroe and Emma Raducanu
World No. 12 Emma Raducanu will be making her French Open debut when she takes the court in the first round of the 2022 French Open. Emma will be arriving in Paris however without any head coach to guide her however she certainly has been helped by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in this regard.
LTA’s Head of Women’s Tennis Iain Bates, physio Will Herbert, technical advisor Louis Cayer, a doubles specialist of the LTA and hitting partner Raymond Sarmiento have travelled along with Emma for the Roland Garros in her bid to make a successful debut at the Stade Roland Garros. The situation has arisen due to Emma’s decision to part ways with Torben Beltz after just 5 months of stint allowed for the German coach who had earlier guided Angelique Kerber to her Grand Slam titles. Speaking about her decision, American great John McEnroe offered his two cents on the discussion of whether it was a correct decision by the Brit or not.
“I didn’t believe in a full-time coach either so it really depends on the player. These days, it seems every player has a coach and I don’t recall who it was when she won the US Open, but I must admit I was surprised they parted ways after she won that. It was an incredible shock for her to win that.
“I’m not sure where she is physically or mentally right now. She obviously did something spectacular at the US Open and you would try to, in some ways, replicate what she was feeling at that time to allow her to play freely,” said McEnroe speaking on Eurosport.
John McEnroe speaks of the impact of increased expectations on Emma Raducanu
With Emma making an impressive run in the 2021 Wimbledon followed by the historic title run at the 2021 US Open, the Brit has a lot of expectations every time she steps on the court and McEnroe was quick to point out that in situations like these for a newbie like Emma, a coach is very important.
“That’s a lot harder now because the expectations are a lot higher so she has to find a group that can get her comfortable and allow her to train in a way that she understands is good for her and be able to go on the court and feel some type of joy and happiness playing. That’s the trick. But there is no way to do that or understand how to do that unless you understand the person. That’s the job of a coach or people around her to get her to a place to do what she does best,” added McEnroe.
Emma will start her French Open campaign against qualifier Linda Noskova in what will be the first meeting between the two players.
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Sarthak Shitole
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