Emma Raducanu is in need of more psychological attention and needs to be careful about who she surrounds herself with according to Billie Jean King.
The 2021 US Open champion struggled to a 17-19 win-loss record in 2022 in her first full WTA season. She only once won three consecutive matches, at the Korea Open in September.
Injuries hampered the British star throughout the year resulting in a tour-leading four mid-match retirements. Ailments included back problems, blisters on the hands and feet, and a wrist injury that ultimately ended her season when she was forced to pull out of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
“Now I think that she needs to have space and time and talk to people she trusts,” King told Reuters. “I would hope she has a psychotherapist, I think they’re very helpful in hearing yourself. I’ve been going forever. It really helped my life.
“I hope she gets people she can trust, who have no agenda. She needs to get away from people who have agendas, like ‘I wanna coach you, I wanna do this’ forget that.
“She needs to be herself and she’s very bright, actually very level-headed. I’m really impressed with her as a human being.”
Raducanu is now looking for her fifth coach in under two years after splitting with Dmitry Tursunov at the end of their trial period.
