Martina Navratilova thinks it is time for Emma Raducanu to look herself in the mirror and make some serious and clear choices about how she goes about her career because the current approach just isn’t working out.
Since returning from multiple surgeries, the 2021 US Open champion has been looking better for the most part. But still, there have been some questionable decisions that left many baffled.
Most recently, it happened during the ongoing North American hard-court swing after the Briton played in Washington but then went without action for a couple of weeks although she was healthy. And while Raducanu was adamant that she knew what she was doing, it ended in disaster since she lost 1-6 6-3 4-6 to Sofia Kenin in the US Open first round and later broke down in tears and admitted that she “felt down.”
Over the last few years, there has been a lot of talk about the 21-year-old’s constant coaching changes and there have been some rumors indicating that her family has a lot of say in those major moves. And even if that is not entirely true, tennis icon Navratilova believes the Briton could definitely be much more responsible.
“I think Emma needs to take ownership of herself, of her brand, and of her tennis career most of all. She needs to be clear who her team is, what her goal is and not let herself off the hook. Aryna Sabalenka, when she had problems with her serve and everybody was trying to help her, she took ownership of it and fixed it herself,” the former 18-time Grand Slam winner told Sky Sports.
Navratilova: Raducanu needs to be in charge, she is old enough…
Last year, there was one moment when the British tennis player admitted that she felt some people didn’t have the best intentions when they started working with her in the aftermath of her historic US Open win. But so far this year, she hasn’t made any changes within her team but some questionable moves regarding the scheduling are now the issue.
And considering that the former world No. 10 skipped the Rome Open and the French Open at the end of the clay season – then opted against playing at the Paris Olympics because of the clay surface – only to play two tournaments during the summer on hard courts, the former world No. 1 believes it’s time for some serious decisions to be made with long-term thinking in her mind.
“Emma needs to be in charge and she’s old enough to know what she should be doing – surround herself with good people and then trust in them, and give it time so that you can see the results. Technically she is great, but she needs more matchplay. I still don’t think she is as fit as she should be. I feel like if you don’t want to play the Olympics because it’s a different surface, you need to fix your body. Maybe it’s just not equipped for this kind of stress. She needs to think long-term… not tomorrow or next week,” Navratilova explained.
Raducanu felt devastated and made a deeply honest admission
Since Flushing Meadows was the place where the entire tennis and sports world got to learn about Raducanu, the Briton was naturally excited about returning to the US Open – especially knowing that she couldn’t play there last year because she was recovering from surgeries to both wrists and her right ankle. But after seeing her campaign finish at the earliest time possible, she felt absolutely crushed.
“I feel down, I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in so… after the first set I was outplayed completely and I think I did well to equal it. The third set was pretty high-level tennis and I think certain parts of my game in dealing with her speed of shot, dealing with her pace, certain parts I actually executed better than in previous matches. I came across a very in-form opponent, and she played really well,” Raducanu said after falling short versus Kenin.
The Briton currently at No. 72 in the world then also confessed that she probably could have made some better decisions schedule-wise.
“I was maybe a bit slow starting. Yeah, I would have preferred to probably play, a little bit more before coming into the US Open. You know, I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good. You feel like everything’s automatic. So yeah, I think I can learn from it. And you know my manage my schedule slightly differently,” the 2021 US Open winner said.
Raducanu is scheduled to play again this month when a WTA 250 tournament in Seoul starts on September 16th.