Tim Henman welcomed Emma Raducanu’s decision to participate in qualifications for the first time since she won the 2021 US OpenBy saying: “I am convinced that the results will follow.”
Henman, himself a semi-finalist of Wimbledon three times, was the side of the court in New York when Raducanu blitzé four years ago, offering a precious point of emotional support.
He recognizes that the intermediate years have been difficult RadicanuWho sometimes had the impression of carrying “a backpack of rocks”. But she started 2025 by trying to play more games and more events, as shown in her decision to take a joker to qualify for Abu Dhabi Open next week.
“I have always been personally a big and a big defender of this,” said Henman when he asked Raducanu’s intention to extend his game schedule. “I have always played a lot of matches.
“This is where university tennis (in the United States) is such a good opportunity because they compete. You look Jacob Fearnley (British No. 3 who beat Kei Nishikori on Friday morning to level the equality of qualification of the Davis Cup in Japan at 1-1). He has acquired a lot of experience at stake and resilience, physically and mentally, that goes with it. He then went on the tour.
“For Emma, I think that (playing qualifications) is a big decision. If it can remain healthy, if it competitively competitive, the results will come. She’s so good. If she was not good enough, then you would say: “Well, she must pay attention to her schedule, choose weaker tournaments.” If she retains this number of tournaments in which she is in competition and remains healthy, I am convinced that the results will follow. »»
The start of the Raducanu until 2025 has already been generally hectic, with a withdrawal from Auckland due to back problems, followed by two strong victories on talented opponents at the Australian Open, then a punishment 6-1, 6-0 In the hands of the world n ° 2 IGA Swiatek.
Then, at the end of last week, it was announced that His trainer Nick Cavaday withdrew of his article on the account of health problems. Telegraph Sport Understands that this is linked to the determination of Raducanu to play a busy schedule this year, because Cavaday is not currently good enough to spend so many weeks on the road.
Their collaboration, which started at the end of 2023 while Raducanu returned operations on the wrists and the ankle, succeeded, culminating last summer with a race in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
It will be difficult to replace Cavaday for two reasons: first due to the depth of a connection that was established for the first time when Raducanu was an 11 -year -old junior and him the director of the Bromley Tennis Center, and secondly Due to his understanding of the technique that details.
Raducanu likes to discuss swing plans and racket angles; Indeed, we can argue that it has been too focused on this scientific side of sport and too little on the construction of its experience of the Bank of Match.
If everything goes as planned, 2025 will help repair this balance. In the short term, Raducanu travels with her New full -time fitness coach Yutaka Nakamurawhich is sufficiently seasoned to provide tennis expertise as well as the supervision of the gymnasium.
“It is really regrettable that Nick’s Health has stopped (The Coaching Partnership),” said Henman on Thursday, when the Sky Sports coverage of the 2025 tennis season. “When you look at Emma’s story, She changed the coaches. (Cavaday was the sixth full-time meeting in three and a half years.) So I don’t think that will disturb her a lot.
“I think it’s great that she now has a fitness coach on board. What is the priority – is it technical, physical or mental? I think it’s physical, to develop this resilience, so that it can compete on weekdays, weekdays.
“I never really felt like it was a problem with its level. When she played, her level has always been very, very good. If you look at the ventilation of her ranking last year, she played 33 games – I think 11 who were on the grass. When you look at the other 10 months of the year, for having played only 22 games, it’s so few. She is completely aware of it. She will get a coach, I’m sure at the right time. But I think that the physically work it does is the most important thing. »»
Henman’s point on the quality of the results of Raducanu, as opposed to the quantity, was born by The Elo classification Generated by Abstract Tennis, the main database of the results of the world.
Derivative of failures, the Elo classification distributes points in accordance with the players you have beaten, rather than the number. It places Raducanu in n ° 12 in the world, 44 places above its WTA silhouette.
Under its open Australian results, which included a pair of victories in a straight line 26th head of Ekaterina Alexandrova and the American Amanda with big blowsRaducanu has climbed a place on the Elo table and five on the WTA.
But she has not yet established real consistency. Not only was she flaked up by Swiatek in a third round match which saw her “lose her belief a little” – in the words of her opponent – but Raducanu then went to Singapore and suffered An unexpected first round in the world n ° 101 Cristina Bucsa.
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