Emma Raducanu has made an important decision – what comes next could define her future in tennis
Emma Raducanu had big questions to answer after the somewhat bizarre chain of events prior to her withdrawal from the Italian Open and she provided a positive answer by confirming she was reuniting with coach Andrew Richardson.
The tennis media who spoke to Raducanu in Rome have listened to her upbeat comments ahead of her return to action and were convinced the moment had finally arrived for the 2021 US Open champion to make a first appearance on the WTA Tour since a heavy defeat against Amanda Anisimova at the Indian Wells Open in early March.
“It’s been a long few weeks since I last competed. I’ve made good progress, good gains in the last few weeks,” as she spoke about her optimism ahead of her return to action.
“I’m feeling really positive about where I’m heading and how I’m playing, what I’m doing on the court each day. I feel motivated and feel good to go. That’s a real win for me!”
Half an hour after making those comments, she withdrew from the Italian Open, citing the ‘ingoing effects of a virus’ that has been troubling her since early February her and left the media wondering why she had pretended she was going to play in the event.
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Raducanu should have used that media appearance to inform her inquisitive that she was withdrawing from the tournament and given them some hints on when she might return.
The route she chose to take in that media round sparked inevitable speculation over why Raducanu was continuing to pull out of tournaments and questioning if her passion for the game was waning.
By confirming she is working with Richardson once again, the British No 1 has given a broad hint that she is ready to attack what will be a crucial few weeks in her career with a fresh mindset.
Raducanu has plenty of ranking points to defend during the grass court season and if she was unable to play due to the virus problem, it would have a huge impact on the second half of her year.
Raducanu has oft-stated her ambition to remain in the top 32 of the rankings and secure a seeding for Grand Slams, but that has slipped during her three-month absence from the WTA Tour and it could get even worse unless she posts some wins in the next few weeks.
A couple of wins in the upcoming WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg and then at the French Open would provide a welcome boost to Raducanu’s ranking and then she will have to hit the ground running on grass courts, where she will be defending plenty of ranking points from her quarter-final appearance at the WTA 500 event at The Queen’s Club and another 130 points from her third round appearance at Wimbledon last July.
If she fails to pick up wins over the next couple of months, Raducanu’s ranking will slide to a point where she will no longer be gaining entry for the bigger WTA Tour events.
The wildcards she has relied on since her US Open win almost five years ago may not be so forthcoming from tournament directors who have more options to select from in the next generation of rising stars who have burst through from the junior ranks in recent years.
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We should have a good idea of the direction Raducanu’s career is headed in by the end of Wimbledon, with Richardson’s steadying presence offering hope that she will can get moving back in the right direction.
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