Emma Raducanu ‘handling superstardom beautifully’ declares Roland Garros legend Chris Evert
Seven-time Roland Garros champion Chris Evert has praised Emma Raducanu for how she has handled her rising status as a star of the sport.
After completing the full set of Slam match wins by reaching the second round of Roland Garros, the British number one then fell to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus in three sets.
That ended a clay swing that saw Raducanu win just five matches from four tour events.
However, 18-time singles Slam champion and Eurosport expert Evert suggested what might look like mediocre results are tempered by Raducanu’s inexperience on the surface.
She said: “Remember [Raducanu] hasn’t played that much on red clay either, you can tell by the way she was moving.
“She wasn’t sliding comfortably, she wasn’t going in and out of corners very comfortably.
“You have got to hand it to her, she hasn’t had that experience.”
In fact, 2022 is the first full season at tour level for Raducanu, so it is also her first full swing at tour level clay events.
Former world number four Tim Henman agreed with that characterisation from Evert.
He said Raducanu can take plenty of positives from her clay season into the British grass.
Off the court, Evert is also impressed with how Raducanu has handled her accelerated rise to superstardom.
She added: “When you talk about her life and how it has changed, she is a superstar.
“Look what it did to Naomi Osaka, where she had to take a long break because it was not an easy transition.
“I just want to compliment Emma as I think she has handled everything beautifully, she has taken everything in her stride.
“I think tennis is the number one priority for her, she has the ability ignore the naysayers who doubt her ability.
“She still has a huge ceiling and we all have to be patient with her.”
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