Emma Raducanu can use inconsistent start as ‘positive experience’, claims former British number one

Johanna Konta believes Emma Radcanu can take a “positive experience” from her inconsistent and injury-riddled start to her first full season on tour and thinks the clay-court season will also prove beneficial.

In her first full season on the WTA tour, 19-year-old US Open champion Raducanu has earned some impressive victories but has mostly struggled for consistency.

The young Brit has only managed to string two successive wins together on one occasion since her historic Flushing Meadows success.

Although, Raducanu has been blighted by multiple injuries that may have come as a result of either a lack of pre-season training after she contracted Covid-19 in December or due to the physical demands of the professional tour.

She has suffered injuries at three of the four events she has featured in. She battled through blistering at the Australian Open, suffered a leg/hip injury at the Zapopan Open and pushed through a back problem at the Indian Wells Masters.

However, former British number one Johanna Konta believes there are still positives Raducanu can take from her injury-riddled start, feeling that everything can be added to her growing bank of experiences.

In an interview with Eurosport, former World number four Konta said “I think she has to look back on this Australian Open as a positive experience.

“The fact that she had that tough first round against Sloane Stephens and was able to come through that and also the way she was still able to compete in that second round.

“I think it’s a positive that she’s on tour and she’s going to be consistently on tour now, that’s what we need to keep on talking about, she needs time in this environment and just that consistent time in this environment – it’ll all go into the bank of experience.”

Following the Miami Open, Raducanu will play her first ever professional clay-court season.

When asked about how the red dirt surface may affect Raducanu, Konta said “I don’t really think Emma necessarily deals with pressure like how we would be expecting her to deal with it, I think she’s incredibly mature with how she’s dealing with everything around her.

“So, I do not believe it will faze her too much changing onto the clay court, she’s definitely played on clay courts I would assume before as a junior, and obviously again it’ll just be about spending time on that surface at the highest level of the game.

“It’s an exciting time for her to discover how her game feels on the surface against these players so I think more than anything it’s again just time and adding it all into the bank of experience.”

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