Tim Henman makes bold Emma Raducanu prediction as he identifies big weak spot
Emma Raducanu has vowed to play more matches in 2025 and former British No 1 Tim Henman believes that will give her the best chance to climb back to the top.
Raducanu has struggled with form and fitness since her 2021 US Open win, with the 22-year-old facing a vital season as she looks to prove she can compete consistently at the top of the game.
Her decision to hire fitness guru Yutaka Nakamura for this year was a big statement that she intends to get her body into shape to maintain regular tournament action, but she was sidelined by a back problem that forced her out of what should have been her first tournament of the year.
A run to the third round at the Australian Open was encouraging, but the manner of her 6-1, 6-0 drubbing at the hands of world No 2 Iga Siwatek sparked fears that Raducanu may never again replicate her Grand Slam win from a little over three years ago
Yet Henman insists such pessimism is misplaced, as he believes that a fit and firing Raducanu is a threat to any player in the game, with fitness issues her biggest opponent.
“If she can stay healthy and competes a lot, the results will come because she’s that good,” said Sky Sports Tennis analyst Henman.
“If she wasn’t good enough, you’d say she has to pick her tournaments and play some weaker events. With Emma, if she stays healthy, I’m convinced the results will follow.
“I never thought it was about her level. When she has played, her level has always been very good, but if you look at the breakdown of her ranking last year, I think she played 33 matches and 11 of them were on grass.
“When you look at the other 10 months of the year, to have only played 22 matches is so few. She is aware of that, I’m sure, and she will get a coach at the right moment, but for me, the physical work she is doing is most significant.
“I’ve always been a big, big advocate of playing matches. I always played a lot of matches.
“When you look at college tennis now, it is such a good opportunity because they compete match after match.
“When I started playing, you had to play lots of lower-ranked events to try and build yourself up. You look at Jacob Fearnley and he has played a lot of matches in college in America and has quickly transitioned to the tour.”
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Raducanu confirmed that she has split with another coach after Nick Cavaday opted to end their working relationship for health reasons, with Henman insisting this decision cannot be compared to the numerous coaching changes Raducanu has made since her 2021 US Open win.
“The circumstances of this relationship ending are different,” he added. “Emma has stopped with coaches in the past and what is really unfortunate this time is Nick’s help has been the big factor. Emma has changed coaches in the past, so I don’t think it will disrupt her a great deal.
“It’s great that she has a fitness trainer on board because if you asked whether the priority is technical, physical or mental, I think it’s physical so that she can compete week-in, week-out.”
Former British tennis player Naomi Broady told Tennis365 that the criticism Raducanu gets suggests she plays to different rules to other players, with expectations around her inflated to unrealistic levels.
“People who have that attitude and say Emma got lucky when we won the US Open don’t understand tennis,” Broady told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview. “You hear them say she is a one-Slam wonder and it was a fluke that she won the US Open.
“If you understand tennis, you will know that is not possible. You can’t come through qualifying, win seven matches without dropping a set and win a Grand Slam by luck.
“She has the level and she needs to get back there and it’s incredibly difficult not to look at those articles online and get dragged into the negativity.
“Hopefully the team around her will help with that and that may be why over the last year or two she has made that close circle much smaller. She needs that protection around her.”
Raducanu has a big chance to leap back into the top 32 of the WTA Rankings if she plays more matches in 2025 and that would ensure she is seeded for Grand Slam events and would avoid early meetings with top 10 ranked stars.
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