Emma Raducanu told to get used to playing smaller events as her big challenge is highlighted
There is no doubt that Emma Raducanu has the quality to return to the top of the game, but she has been warned that she needs to get used to working her way back up the WTA Rankings.
Just under two years after she found herself at No 10 in the WTA Rankings on the back of her incredible title run as a qualifier at the 2021 US Open, Raducanu sits at No 250 in the official rankings following her injury woes and poor form in 2023.
But she is due to slip further down the list as she currently sits at No 287 in the LIVE Rankings on the back of her third-round exit from the Indian Wells Open.
Raducanu required a wildcard to enter the WTA 1000 event and she has also received wildcards for the upcoming Miami Open and the Stuttgart Open, but after that she will likely be forced to play smaller tournaments or come through qualifiers at bigger events if she is to move up the rankings again.
Sky Sports Tennis commentator Jonathan Overend pinpointed exactly why Raducanu is facing an uphill battle in the coming months.
“The big challenge for the life of Raducanu is this is a career in reverse. She’s won a Grand Slam title in her teens, done something virtually every other player will never get the chance to do and she’s already done it,” he told Sky Sports.
“Now she’s got to get used to working her way back up the rankings and playing tournaments that aren’t as high profile as these ones, but when they do come she’s got to believe she can play at that level because she has demonstrated it already in her career.”
READ MORE: Emma Raducanu makes her point as screaming Aryna Sabalenka fumes over warning
Raducanu has the talent though to work her way back up and there were glimpses of her best form at the Indian Wells Open the past week.
She claimed a confident straight-set win over Rebeka Masarova in the first round and then raced into a 4-0 lead against Dayana Yastremska before the Ukrainian retired from their second-round match.
Although she lost 6-3, 7-5 against Aryna Sabalenka in the third round on Monday, Raducanu put up a good fight against the reigning Australian Open champion.
Former world no 76 Naomi Broady told Sky Sports Tennis that it is still a learning curve for Raducanu.
“She’s got the level of tennis, so once she overcomes the injuries – she’s had the surgeries now and drawn the line in the sand, so can train properly – it’s dealing with the rest of the stuff, which you don’t know how to deal with it until you live it. It’s a learning curve. Everything is still so new,” she said.
“She’s cut a lot of the team she had around her. She said she just wanted to make it even smaller. In fact, I think she was only with her coach Nick Cavaday at Indian Wells. Some of the top players have physios, psychologists and fitness coaches. She’s keeping it as small as possible and only hiring people she can trust.”
