Laura Robson identifies Emma Raducanu’s mindset shift ahead of Australian Open

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Emma Raducanu has a successful return to the WTA Tour
Emma Raducanu has a successful return to the WTA Tour

Former British No 1 Laura Robson believes Emma Raducanu is ready to silence her doubters in 2024 after an encouraging start to her comeback bid.

Raducanu stepped away from tennis last April as she underwent surgery on both wrists and her ankle before starting a long and painful journey back to action.

That comeback bid reached a crescendo when she won her opening match back on the WTA Tour in Auckland before she turned in a hugely encouraging performance against world No 23 Elina Svitolina.

The 2021 US Open champion has sparked fresh injury concerns after pulling out of warm-up matches ahead of her appearance at the Australian Open, yet Robson has told Tennis365 that the 21-year-old is ready to shine as he looks to plot a return back to the top of the game.

After witnessing the work she has been putting in at LTA’s National Tennis Centre (NTC) in London over the last few months, Robson suggests Raducanu has rediscovered some of the magic formula that fired her to US Open glory a little over two years ago.

“Everyone who has been at the NTC over the last couple of months knows how hard she has been working on and off the court,” Robson told Tennis365 as she prepares to join discovery+’s team at the Australian Open.

“It has been a huge slog in the gym as well as trying to get that match fitness back, so you never know how it’s going to go when you go off to a tournament.

“So to see her play so aggressively, arguably the most aggressive I have seen her play since the US Open that she won, and to see the confidence that brought as she went after her shots without feeling pain was amazing.

“She was so close against Svitolina. Elina is hitting bigger than ever from the back of the court. It is something she knew she needed to do when she came back to compete with the best.

“After you spend that much time off the court, you always think let’s get back to the basics, which is what I always used to think after months and months of rehab.

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“You are like why did I pick up a racket, what did I enjoy doing… let me get back to that.

“Emma, from the looks of it, is hitting the ball big and from the age of 14, we knew she could do it. Just to see her enjoying her tennis again is huge.”

The LTA’s training centre in south London has become a hub for British players to train in recent years and Robson suggests that the team environment around the British players has helped Raducanu in her long comeback from injury.

“The whole NTC vibe this off-season I’ve loved,” she added. “It has been years since we had that kind of energy around the courts and around the gym.

“Usually you have loads of people go off to Florida or the south of France, but this year it felt like most people stayed in London. The difference it made was it created a really good environment around the training base.

“It makes such a big difference to know day after day you are not the only one going through it. You are getting spurred on by people doing PB’s in the gym and a big shout needs to go out Colin Beecher (Great Britain’s United Cup coach from this month), who was so instrumental in bringing it all together and making sure the players had what they needed.

“The players all really get on well. That might sound cheesy, but it makes a difference knowing every day that you turn up you will have people next to you that you enjoy spending time with.

“To have that base of people you can hit with in the off-season is important as well. In the past, we had to get hitters in as the levels were not there, but to have so many of the top British players there means you are ready to play matches from day one.”

Every moment of the Australian Open is LIVE and exclusive on Eurosport and discovery+ from 8-28 January

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