Emma Raducanu told to ‘work at things yourself’ as former Wimbledon champion slams ‘ridiculous’ decision
Emma Raducanu’s slump following her US Open triumph has been described as “very sad” by Ann Jones while the three-time Grand Slam winner also admitted that she is unimpressed with the youngster’s high turnover of coaches.
Back in 2021, an 18-year-old Raducanu enjoyed a fairytale run at Flushing Meadows as she became the first-ever qualifier – man or woman – to win a major as she won 10 matches without dropping a set en route to lifting the US Open trophy.
Naturally, she was the talk of the town not only in tennis but in the sporting community as she signed several major sponsorship deals and went on to with the British Sports Personality of the Year award a few weeks later.
Not long after her New York success, Raducanu and Andrew Richardson – the man who coached her to US Open glory – parted ways and since then she has gone through several coaches.
But many have questioned that decision as Raducanu has struggled for form and with injuries since her Grand Slam win and has fallen to No 296 in the WTA Rankings.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Jones said the 21-year-old’s demise “is very sad” although she criticised Raducanu, who has gone through five coaches since her US Open win, for constantly chopping and changing coaches.
Raducanu revealed earlier this year that often ended relationships as “they couldn’t keep up with her”.
“Well, what did she think we all did?” Jones asked. “We had to find our own answers. You have to work at things yourself. To fire a coach after she had just won the US Open was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
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Raducanu has been sidelined since May this year as she underwent surgery on both her wrists as well as her ankle, but she is set to finally make her comeback at the Auckland Open in January.
Jones, who won the French Open twice, believes the youngster’s injury woes and poor form may be down to changing her natural game.
“Life is about momentum. If you’ve got the momentum, you have to take advantage of it and carry on,” she said.
“You’ve got a natural game. What you need to do is to improve what you have got. You don’t have coaches come along and change your game.
“The results are clear. You get injured, because it’s not natural for you to hit the ball in that way. It was natural to hit it the way you hit it in the first place.
“How do you recover your natural game after it has been changed? It’s very difficult to find what you had before. I think she’s really enjoyed winning and I don’t think she wants to lose now. It’s a waste and we could do with a champion here.”
