“She can learn while she’s winning” Emma Raducanu advised to learn from Jim Courier to overcome recent slump
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Emma Raducanu and Jim Courier
Emma Raducanu shot to fame during her fairytale run at the US Open last year. The Brit teenager broke several records with her triumph in Flushing Meadows, including becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title. She soon became the talk of the town and was even pegged to be tennis’ next golden girl following her amazing campaign.
Her first year on the senior circuit was indeed fruitful for Raducanu, she ended the year ranked 19th in the world, a mammoth 324 places increase from the previous year. But since then it has been a downward spiral for the 19-year-old. A string of misfortunes with injuries and inconsistencies resulted in her winning only 4 matches since her triumph in New York last year. Her recent outing at the Indian Wells also ended in disappointment after she was knocked out in the third round.
However former American tennis player, Leif Shiras says it’s all part of the learning curve for Raducanu. The player-turned journalist also added that there’s huge potential to be unlocked and Raducanu is still an emerging player. There are some shortcomings to her game and she has to improve upon them.
“She’s going to have to find her best tennis, more consistently, and that’s going to be difficult because she’s on a learning curve. There’s still a lot in her game that she can learn and we see that because she’s an emerging talent so her game has a few holes to fill in still,” he said in an interview with SkySports.
‘I think there are opportunities for Emma Raducanu to win a second major‘: Leif Shrifas
He then recalled Jim Courier’s quote which goes on as one can learn from losing but isn’t as fun to learn from winning. Taking this quote, Shiras said Raducanu can work on her shortcoming while winning matches as well.
“Jim Courier always said, ‘I enjoy learning from losing, you can really learn a lot, but I enjoy learning from winning’ so maybe she can learn while she’s winning. That’s the best formula. Five of the last nine Grand Slams have been won by first-timers so there is possibilities and there are a lot of players who can be favored at majors. There’s no reason why Emma can’t do the same,” he said
Shrifas added it is a competitive field but Raducanu is no stranger to it considering she already overcame it once by clicking her maiden Grand Slam at the US Open. He also added unlike past years, the circuit isn’t dominated by just one player, taking the example of Serena Williams. Williams was a force to reckon with during her prime and dominated the circuit for nearly two decades. However, unlike then, it is more of an evenly contested field over the past few years.
“Is it going to be a rough road? Yes, because there are a lot of experienced players who all want to get a piece of the action, so it’s going to be competitive. But she’s done it before and I think she has a taste of what she can do and because the game is not dominated so much like a Serena Williams, I do think there are opportunities for a number of women – including Emma – to win a second major,” he added.
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