Why Emma Raducanu’s tennis career has imploded, with US Open champion now out of top 100

Instead, several figures allowed within the inner sanctum of the locker room noted with surprise how glum Raducanu looked considering what she had just achieved. Even at this early stage it appeared as if she was already heavily burdened by the dramatic changes in her life. Bear in mind that only four months previously she was an unknown teenager sitting her A-level exams at Newstead Wood, a grammar school in Orpington, southeast London.

With hindsight, it was an indication of what was to come. Raducanu has never looked comfortable on the tour, only winning three consecutive matches at two of the 26 tournaments she has contested since that fortnight at Flushing Meadows 19 months ago. No doubt she is far more talented than her projected world ranking of No.101 would suggest, but it cannot be argued that this is anything other than an accurate reflection of her present level of play.

It must be acknowledged that Raducanu has been beset by a series of physical problems. There is barely a part of her body that has not been the cause of a retirement or a withdrawal. In October she hired Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer Jez Green as a consultant in a bid to become more robust, only to turn her ankle in the first tournament of the 2023 season.

Yet there has also been a series of missteps, for which those around her must also take some responsibility. It still beggars belief that Raducanu did not retain the services of Andrew Richardson, the coach who helped guide her to US Open glory, until at least the end of the 2021 season. He may not have been the right candidate for a long-term partnership because of his lack of top-level experience, but it verged on disrespect to dismiss him so quickly.

As a result, Raducanu did not have the necessary balance surrounding her when she turned up in Indian Wells. After she tamely lost in the first round, I was one of a small group of British reporters who were taken aback when she issued a plea through us for potential mentors to contact her. Initially we laughed in the belief that it was a lighthearted comment. “I wasn’t joking; if anyone knows any experienced coaches …” she replied.

It is only in recent months that there has been stability in her coaching set-up with Sebastian Sachs. Torben Beltz, a respected German who helped Angelique Kerber to world No 1, was sacked in April 2022 after only five months working with Raducanu. After playing at Wimbledon without an established replacement, she worked with Dmitry Tursunov for two months before the Russian vaguely cited “red flags that just couldn’t be ignored” as a reason for his decision to leave her team.

There have long been raised eyebrows within British tennis circles about the involvement of Raducanu’s father Ian. No one outside Raducanu’s camp can legitimately claim to have full knowledge of his influence, but it is unusual for a parent to turn up alongside their daughter at training sessions for the Great Britain Billie Jean King Cup team.

Much has understandably been made of Raducanu’s nine commercial deals, brokered by her management company IMG, and the distractions that a portfolio worth £15 million may cause. Her agent Max Eisenbud has always insisted that this requires Raducanu to dedicate no more than 18 days of time a year to her sponsorship demands.

Of more surprise to this correspondent is some of the advice offered around scheduling and media appearances. For someone who is clearly not quite at home on the individual tour, it is curious that she has skipped the opportunity twice this year to play in a fun team environment, with her fellow Britons, at the United Cup mixed event in Australia and Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against France in Coventry.

Insisting during a press conference at Indian Wells last month that she did not know the date for the latter was a clumsy and foolish attempt to avoid revealing that she was not going to appear. It clearly caused a mixture of embarrassment and anger to the British captain, Anne Keothavong, who had given up time with her family to travel to the tournament.

Until this point, Raducanu had generally been candid and expansive during her chats with the media. A sign of the strain she is under came on Wednesday when, unusually, she mustered just 58 words in response to 16 questions from British reporters.

There is no specific blueprint for Raducanu and her team to follow. While there have been several teenage grand-slam champions, most have had some experience of the main tour before claiming a major trophy. Boris Becker was already ranked No.20 when he won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985. Raducanu was ranked No 150 when she won in New York two years ago.

In the short term, however, it seems clear that Raducanu requires a period of rest to give her right wrist a chance to recover. Attempts at “managing it” while continuing to play have not worked, resulting in practice sessions that have been of little use.

Perhaps then it is better to skip the rest of the clay-court season and return fit and reinvigorated for the British grass-court season, where Raducanu can play in front of adoring home crowds on a surface that better suits her attacking game.

If Raducanu has failed to improve her ranking by the end of the US Open in September, she might be better advised competing against lower-ranked opposition in second-tier ITF events to build momentum. However, her marketability will always bring wildcard offers, testing her resolve. One tournament director told The Times on Wednesday that she could receive invites on the main tour for another five years, as long as she was not ranked outside the top 300.

She has plenty of time on her side. While it does represent a fall from grace to have a three-figure ranking less than two years after that US Open victory, there are few in tennis who do not believe that Raducanu will climb back up at some point.

– The Times

Originally published as Why Emma Raducanu’s tennis career has imploded, with US Open champion now out of top 100