Raducanu cannot be expected to keep up ‘meteoric’ rise, says former British number one

Andrew Castle says Emma Raducanu should not be expected to maintain her rise as “it cannot happen” and feels she should focus more on her development.

19-year-old British sensation Emma Raducanu won the US Open as a qualifier at just 18 years old, but has since struggled for form at the following tournaments on the WTA tour.

Raducanu exited the Indian Wells Masters in the first round and the Upper Austria Ladies Linz in the second round. Although she did reach the quarter-finals of the Transylvania Open.

After winning the US Open, Raducanu split with her coach Andrew Richardson and recently appointed Angelique Kerber’s former coach Torben Beltz. Beltz led Kerber to two of her three Grand Slam titles.

Speaking at a Game4Padel event, Castle said “this is the challenge of the coach (Torben Beltz) and the team and for her. Think about the right things as she develops over the next two to three years and not care about what anybody else says.

“Just work on the tennis, work on her game. The money’s in the bank for forever and a day.

“These sorts of considerations are completely gone, now just develop your game over the next two to three years and don’t start thinking ‘well I’ve lost two or three first rounders’, just think ‘is my game developing?’

“It’s going to become a very dull story in a way because we’re expecting her to sort of meteorically continue… it just cannot happen. There are ups and downs.

“When do you think she’s going to be at her very best? If she stays motivated, probably not for another two or three years and she’s already brilliant. What an arrival!” Castle exclaimed.

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