Emma Raducanu ‘will be a multiple Grand Slam champion’ claims former coach
Emma Raducanu has been backed to win more majors by her and Andy Murray’s former coach, Mark Petchey, who claimed that the 2021 US Open champion ‘is one of the best athletes on the tour’.
Raducanu spent eight months on the injury sidelines last year, after undergoing surgeries to both wrists and her left ankle, before returning at the Auckland Classic in January.
Since coming back to the WTA Tour, the 21-year-old has won three of her seven matches, with her most recent coming in the form of a defeat to Anhelina Kalinina in Doha.
Despite this, Petchey appears impressed with the player he coached for a brief period in 2020, “She is moving well. She’s probably one of the best athletes out there on the tour right now. She moves phenomenally well, I don’t think we talk about it enough. If the game is there, then the athleticism backs up.”
Raducanu has often been criticised for her frequent changing of coaches, with the Brit having a total of five coaches across two years.
She is now working with childhood coach Nick Cavaday, and Petchey revealed his hope for Raducanu to have more stability this year.
“I personally would like to see a little bit more consistency in her team,” said the former top 100 player. “But the one thing I will say about Emma is the 10 months that I spent with her, there was not a day, there was not a minute that she didn’t put in. Every single time she hit a tennis ball, and it was 100 percent commitment to it.”
Petchey continued his defence of Raducanu and backed the former world No.10 to add to her Grand Slam tally, “I think there are people out there that have a very wrong perception of what she is like as a person and as a competitor out there. She is going to give everything to this sport. And ultimately I believe she will be a multiple Grand Slam champion.”
Raducanu revealed that she would be heading home to practice after her early exit in Doha, and it is currently unclear as to what her next tournament will be.
Inside the baseline…
Emma Raducanu receives a lot of flack, a lot of which is unnecessary, so it is nice to hear someone who has firsthand experience describe her in such a positive light. Although Raducanu has a win percentage of less than 50% so far in 2024, there have been a lot of positive signs, even in the defeats. Hopefully Raducanu decides to enter some lower calibre tournaments to allow herself the opportunity to get more match practice in and help build the ranking back up.
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