Emma Raducanu’s smile was one of the most memorable images of her 2021 US Open win, but it has been missing for long periods since that iconic victory in New York.
It was almost as if it was too much too soon for Raducanu as she won a Grand Slam title before she was even close to being acclimatised to the WTA Tour, with the inevitable fall-out from a life-changing victory leading to plenty of challenges.
Raducanu made her debut in a long list of tournaments as a major champion, with the huge expectations her breakthrough moment created proving to be impossible for the young Brit to live up to.
Pressure from sponsors to continue her incredible rise was coupled with a media spotlight that burned down on her every time she stepped on court and Raducanu openly admitted there were moments when tennis felt like a chore rather than a challenge.
Injuries complicated her story, yet the fascination around an athlete who inspired so many young girls around the world with her incredible US Open has continued even though she wasn’t on court for long periods.
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Her constant coaching changes drew criticism, online trolls delighted in her defeats, but the mood around Raducanu changed when she made it through to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in March.
The smile that was her trademark after each and every win on that amazing US Open run almost four year ago has also returned and that is telling.
Raducanu seemed reluctant to play clay court events this time last year and she even turned down the chance to compete in qualifying for the French Open last June, but she has had a very different approach when selecting when to play on her least favourite surface this year.
She battled hard in a second round defeat against Marta Kostyuk at the Madrid Open and now she is looking forward to a third round match at the Italian Open after a solid win against over Swiss lucky loser Jil Teichmann.
“I still don’t really feel comfortable on clay, but in a way it helps me because I have to be super focused on every single point, just getting my feet right and to try and not fall over, so it is a big challenge,” Raducanu told Sky Sports.
“The points are long, the balls do get heavier, and when I was serving it out, it was getting slower and slower, so it is physical but I’m slowly finding my feet.”
Raducanu didn’t seem keen to take herself out of her comfort zone during the clay court season last year, as she took the option of waiting for some wildcards to play some grass court tournaments in her British homeland ahead of competing on the red dirt around Europe.
She also seems to have rediscovered the joy on a tennis court, with the changes she has made to her service motion since Mark Petchey returned to her coaching set-up having an instant impact.
“If you look at my serve now compared to Australia, compared to the Middle East, even Miami, I changed it after Miami with some tweaks and it’s a completely different motion,” she added.
“I’m trying to make it a bit more fluid, a bit longer, so it’s hopefully more robust under pressure, but it’s by no means a finished product.
“I feel there’s so much more room to grow it. I think this way I can maximise the potential.”
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli believes the big improvement Raducanu has made on clay has come with her movement.
“I think she’s moving better which is crucial on clay,” Bartolli told Sky Sports Tennis.
“The surface is lively and you’re sliding all over the place, so you need to get your legs extremely strong.
“You need to feel the ground really well and when I look at her muscle from the lower body she has been really putting in the work in the gym, which is probably why she decided to take a break after Miami to get those hours in the gym to make sure she was physically ready for the clay and grass too.”
One big question mark that has been a constant focus of discussion around her constantly changing coaching set-up since her memorable US Open win in 2021, with Mark Petchey currently working on a part-time basis with the 22-year-old.
Bartoli suggests that the situation needs to be firmed up, but she suggested Petchey’s upbeat appraoch has helped to change the mood in her camp.
“Emma is probably looking for a coach who is not too technical,” she added.
“She will really need someone on the court with her every day if she wants to work on her technique. She’s probably wanting someone to explain to her how the tactics work for that specific opponent.
“They had to reposition her around the court because she had to cover the left side of the court [against Teichmann] so when you have the experience of someone as Mark, you can bring that on the table very quickly and sometimes that takes away the stress from the player.
“I think that’s what she’s looking for in that dynamic. She’s going to her box quite often with eye contact which means she trusts the people inside that box.”
Raducanu’s demeanour on and off the court has lifted since Petchey and long-term confident Jane O’Donoghue joined her coaching set-up in Miami and while there is concern that the duo are only available to work with her on a part-time basis, the second coming of Raducanu is threatening to be more enduring than her first breakthrough moment.
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