Emma Raducanu has been offered some legendary help, as she bids to maintain her upward trajectory after the US Open.
With the Grand Slam season over, and therefore very few elite-level tournaments left for many players to play for, the British number one has shown a willingness to keep trying to progress.
After all, she will be keen to continue learning under Francisco Roig, whom she hired after Mark Petchey departed her team after Wimbledon.
The early signs of this partnership are promising, with only the very best players in the world able to beat Emma Raducanu nowadays.
Fortunately, in a bid to step up her level in order to finally start challenging these top-ranked superstars, a former world number one has commented to offer her services.
Emma Raducanu responds to Dinara Safina’s offer
In a post made by the BTT Academy, which was founded by Roig, among others, back in 2004, it was in the comments section where Dinara Safina emerged.
There, she reacted to a video of the 22-year-old working both in the gym and on the court with Roig.
The post read: “This week we had the great pleasure of welcoming @emmaraducanu to our academy.”
They concluded by writing: “Thank you, Emma, for your professionalism and approachability. It has been a true luxury to have you training with us, you are a role model for everyone! We wish you the best of luck on the Asian tour.”
Safin, meanwhile, would write: “If you need a hitting partner I’m ready”.
Raducanu then responded, claiming “I’d be the hitting partner,” to which Safin reiterated: “I’m ready”.
Emma Raducanu enjoys first training block with Francisco Roig
Realistically, since Raducanu brought Roig in, they have had no free time to train alongside one another.
But that’s not to say that the Spaniard hasn’t made his mark.
After all, in their very first tournament together in Cincinnati, the renowned coach was praised for his constant dialogue with the player, uplifting her during an intense battle with Aryna Sabalenka, which she went on to narrowly lose.
However, given her exit in the first week of the US Open, Raducanu finally has some crucial time to spend learning techniques from Roig rather than just hearing from him mid-tournament.
It’s clear that she enjoyed the experience, as she also commented: “Best time thank you”.
With her next tournament in Korea, it will be interesting to see how she translates this training block to the court.
