Emma Raducanu’s underrated weapon revealed in Rafael Nadal comparison
Former world No 24 Annabel Croft has identified the areas of Emma Raducanu’s game that were crucial to the Brit’s improved level during her 2025 Miami Open run.
Raducanu entered the Miami Open having lost six of her previous seven matches and with a 3-6 record in 2025 after a tough start to the campaign.
The 2021 US Open winner left her early-season struggles behind, though, as she made an impressive run to the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament.
The 22-year-old saw off Sayaka Ishii, Emma Navarro, McCartney Kessler and Amanda Anisimova for the loss of just one set before losing in three sets to world No 4 Jessica Pegula in the last eight. It was her first-ever run to the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 event.
In a column for The Times, Croft argued Raducanu’s serve, return and volleys all played a key role in her Miami revival.
“The serve was much improved,” she wrote. “Having been such a problem in her previous tournaments this season, suddenly it turned into a weapon here.
“The accuracy was phenomenal and the motion so steady and stable that her opponents were unsure as to which direction the ball was going.
Emma Raducanu News
Tim Henman reveals Emma Raducanu’s biggest concern – and it is not her next coach
Money and points earned by Sabalenka, Pegula, Swiatek, Gauff, Raducanu in Miami
“Raducanu’s returning in Miami was up there with the best on tour right now. The depth and quality of it stressed her opponents to such an extent that they would miss more first serves. This would then give Raducanu more of a look at a shorter and slower second serve, which she would absolutely annihilate in response. It was quite something to witness.
“You may be surprised by this but I also genuinely think Raducanu is one of the best volleyers in the game. Yes, she is not a player who is constantly attacking the net at any opportunity but when she does come forward she rarely misses a volley.
“It reminds me of Rafael Nadal, who was so underrated at the net because of his baseline style, but whose success rate was so high when he ventured forward. I would not be surprised if we saw Raducanu up there more in the future, particularly on a grass court.”
The former British No 1 went on to highlight physical durability as the main lingering concern for Raducanu, who has been plagued by injuries in her short career to date.
“A question mark for me is still the physical side,” Croft added. “There can be sudden drop-offs, as we saw in the second sets against both Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula.
“However, the work is clearly still in progress on this front with her fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura and the niggles of the past do not seem to be so regular now. There was also much to admire in the way Raducanu battled through these issues and left it all out there on the court.”
READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu closing in on stunning prize money breakthrough after Miami Open run
