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Wimbledon have announced six of its eight wildcard entries for the men’s singles draw and Nick Kyrgios is yet to make the Grand Slam’s list.

Grigor Dimitrov, Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery, Jack Pinnington Jones, Toby Samuel, and Stan Wawrinka have been given instant access to Wimbledon’s main draw, with two more names set to be announced by the Grand Slam.

It is currently unclear who will be named, but there are several names who are still in with a shout.

Dan Evans, who is set to retire following Wimbledon, will be hoping for one of the final spots while the likes of Jack Draper, Matteo Berrettini, and Nick Kyrgios will also have an eye on the announcement.

Kyrgios has received a wildcard for the Wimbledon doubles, where he will play with Alexander Bublik, but his chances for the singles look slim.

However, if Kyrgios was in with a shout of receiving a Wimbledon wildcard, it’s not surprising to see the Grand Slam wait until the last moment to offer him the spot.

The Australian has just made a decision that makes it very unlikely that he will receive the accolade from Wimbledon.

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The star was set to play the Halle Open in both the singles and doubles, but the Australian has decided to withdraw from the event with a knee injury.

The Australian has suffered with injuries for much of the latter part of his career and it’s derailed his ability to play tournaments back to back.

As such, his singles match with Ben Shelton has been cancelled and so has his doubles match alongside Mattia Bellucci against Ethan Quinn and Learner Tien.

Kyrgios is far too inconsistent to receive a wildcard for the singles draw at Wimbledon, and his recent comeback has also seen him play two matches before his latest withdrawal.

The Australian played his first tournament in five months at the Stuttgart Open on the grass, where he defeated Corentin Moutet and lost to Sho Shimabukuro.

He looked in good shape during the tournament, but it has clearly caught up with him following his decision to miss the Halle Open.

As talented and popular as he is, Kyrgios is simply not reliable enough to earn a wildcard in the singles draw for Wimbledon this year.

Kyrgios has not played Wimbledon since 2022, when he made it all the way to the final. The Australian defeated the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Brandon Nakashima, and Cristian Garín, before he was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic in four sets.

In recent years, Kyrgios has worked on Wimbledon commentary, for the likes of the BBC and TalkSPORT.

The post Nick Kyrgios has just proved why Wimbledon were right not to give him a singles wildcard appeared first on Tennis365.

Wimbledon have announced all but three of the players who have received singles wildcards for this year’s tournament, while some big name doubles teams have been confirmed.

The 2026 Wimbledon Championships is less than two weeks away, with main draw action set to take place from Monday 29 June to Sunday 12 July.

Serena Williams made a sensational comeback in doubles at the Queen’s Club Championships last week, and it had been expected that the tennis icon would make her return to Wimbledon.

It has now been confirmed that the 44-year-old and her older sister Venus Williams have been given a wildcard for the women’s doubles event at the All England Club.

The Williams sisters won six Wimbledon doubles titles together between 2000 and 2016.

There had been much debate over which players would receive main draw singles wildcards, with a host of high-profile stars ranked outside the top 100 at the time of the entry list cutoff.

Some questions have now been answered, with seven of the eight women’s wildcards and six of the eight men’s wildcards having been confirmed.

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Wimbledon women’s singles wildcards

Poland’s Maja Chwalinska has been awarded a wildcard following her stunning run to the final at Roland Garros as a qualifier.

Six British women have received main draw wildcards: Harriet Dart, Alicia Dudeney, Hannah Klugman, Mika Stojsavljevic, Katie Swan and Mimi Xu.

This leaves one women’s singles wildcard spot, and it is widely expected to be given to Serena Williams.

Wimbledon men’s singles wildcards

On the men’s side, wildcards have been given to Grigor Dimitrov, Stan Wawrinka, Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery, Jack Pinnington Jones and Toby Samuel.

Dimitrov, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2014, was forced to retire due to injury at last year’s event when leading Jannik Sinner by two sets to love in the fourth round.

Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, is retiring from tennis at the end of 2026.

With just two men’s wildcards still to be awarded, some notable ATP players are set to be disappointed.

As things stand, the following players will need a main draw wildcard to compete:

• Nick Kyrgios, a Wimbledon runner-up in 2022 (The Australian has, though, been given a doubles wildcard, with Alexander Bublik his partner).
• Matteo Berrettini, a Wimbledon runner-up in 2021.
• Fan favourite Gael Monfils, who is in the final year of his career.
• Former British No 1 Dan Evans, who will retire after Wimbledon.

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Men’s tennis is likely to get a bit more “chaotic” following a hugely unpredictable and exciting French Open.

That is according to tennis content creator and commentator Gill Gross, who feels the “stability” of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance in 2025 has not been repeated this year.

The duo split the Grand Slams last year, and while Alcaraz triumphed in Australia, Sinner – who has won all five of this year’s Masters events – fell in the second round at Roland Garros, as question marks over his conditioning sprang up again.

With the Spaniard set to miss Wimbledon due to injury, Sinner being desperate to win his first major in a year, and more consistent players such as Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz having on-and-off seasons, Gross thinks the coming months could throw in some surprise results.

Indeed, there were signs of this last year on the ATP Tour when Ben Shelton won his first Masters title in Canada and qualifier Valentin Vacherot did the same in Shanghai.

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Gross said on his YouTube channel, “I do wonder if Roland Garros is going to give way to a little bit of a period of chaos because I don’t think that… although we did have the Masters 1000 in Shanghai last year, and Canada was a little bit more open last year, with which obviously Ben Shelton won.

“I think there was still a general stability. And even after Sinner and Alcaraz, there was De Minaur and Fritz, for example, who had a very consistent year. [Novak] Djokovic has been really consistent in slams, but maybe that starts to fade a little bit.

“There are scenarios in which, after Sinner and Alcaraz, it’s still really unclear how long Carlos will be out, and it gets a lot more messy.

“I’m trying not to use negative words because I don’t think it’s a negative thing, but it’s going to start to be more mushy in terms of who’s the fifth-best player in the world versus the 15th. I think that gap might remain pretty small, and it’s going to be harder and harder to predict these kinds of things.”

While De Minaur and Shelton are at career-highs in the rankings in fifth and sixth respectively, Fritz is down in eighth, and other established players such as Casper Ruud and Lorenzo Musetti have fallen to 12th and 14th.

De Minaur is ninth in the race, while Fritz, who has had an injury-blighted season, is 28th, and Djokovic is 14th.

And of course, the biggest shakeup of all was Alexander Zverev finally winning his first Grand Slam by beating Flavio Cobolli in the Roland Garros final in five sets. Heading into Wimbledon, it is all to play for.

READ MORE: Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon hopes dealt blow as Jannik Sinner ‘the huge favourite’

The post Wimbledon set for ‘chaos’ amid Carlos Alcaraz injury woes and Jannik Sinner question marks appeared first on Tennis365.

Alexander Zverev achieved his biggest ever victory at Roland Garros, but his attention has already turned towards the grass court swing.

The German won his first-ever Grand Slam in Paris after defeating Flavio Cobolli in a five-set final, but now he is looking to turn around his grass court form.

Zverev has only ever reached as far as the fourth round of Wimbledon and he is yet to earn an ATP Tour singles title on the surface.

He will be hoping to change that at the Halle Open, his first tournament since Roland Garros, as several top stars begin their progress on the grass.

Zverev is already looking to put his Roland Garros win in the rearview mirror as he looks to win the Halle Open for the first time in his career.

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Speaking to press ahead of the German event, he said: “The tournament is in Germany, so you want to perform and play at your best. I’ve been practising quite hard and practising quite [well]. It’s a tough adjustment from a good but long clay-court season to a grass court in a couple of days. But I’ll do my best and will be ready.”

However, Zverev also issued a worrying update about his progress on the surface ahead of his appearance at the Halle Open and Wimbledon.

Asked how his grass court game is shaping up, he responded: “I don’t know yet, I’ll be honest. I’ve only had two practice days.

“It’s a tough adjustment, it’s tough to come from the clay courts to grass courts and we didn’t have the best weather here yet, so I haven’t had a lot of practice, but tennis-wise I do feel like I’m playing good. Of course I played well the past couple of weeks, but the adjustment is the one that needs some time.

“I didn’t have time yet, so I hope the next two days will be sunshine and I can practise a lot and just be ready on the court.”

Zverev reached back-to-back finals at the Halle Open in 2016 and 2017, but he is yet to claim the title. He was beaten by Florian Mayer and Roger Federer in back-to-back years.

The star has not reached the final since, but he has played the event several times over the years.

He will play Vít Kopřiva in the first round of this year’s event as he looks to claim the first grass court title of his career.

He has been drawn in the same side of the draw as Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Bublik, and Nick Kyrgios, so it will not be easy for the number one seed.

The post Alexander Zverev says what he’s been struggling with most ahead of Wimbledon – ‘I’ll be honest’ appeared first on Tennis365.

Nick Kyrgios is remarkably back in action on the ATP Tour and many are questioning whether the Australian will be given a wildcard for Wimbledon.

The star had not played on the ATP Tour since the beginning of the year, when he played at the Brisbane International and the Australian Open on home soil.

Kyrgios received wildcards in Stuttgart and Halle on the grass and his level has surprised fans considering his lack of ATP-level action over the past few months.

Despite Kyrgios’ successful return to the sport, Rusedski believes giving him a Wimbledon wildcard into the main draw might be a step too far for the Aussie.

Speaking on his podcast, Off Court with Greg, the British icon said: “Nick Kyrgios got a wild card as well and and the big debate right now is: ‘Will he get a wild card in the main draw, qualies or will they say no to him?’

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“That’s where Mr. [Tim] Henman has a little bit of a job to decide what does he do. I’m not so sure he deserves the main draw wild card,  qualies I think would probably be more sufficed but I’m glad I don’t have to make the decision.”

Kyrgios returned to action at the Stuttgart Open and Rusedski was impressed by the level of the Australian, as he defeated Corentin Moutet in straight sets in the first round.

“He served 84% first serves and he still got one of the best serves in the business. unbelievable feel and hands,” said the former British No. 1.

“But the question, does he have enough reps and he’s he physically strong enough for three out of five sets? Because it’s one thing to play two out of three sets, it’s another thing to play three out of five sets.

“He’s still a big draw card in the men’s game, just because of the controversies,” said Rudeski. “But has he done enough work? And that’s where Wimbledon’s going to have to make a difficult decision.

“I’m kind of favouring that he’ll probably get it in qualies, I’d be surprised if he got a main draw wild card, but he’s still one of the biggest draws in men’s tennis.”

Kyrgios is set to continue his preparations for a potential Wimbledon appearance at the Halle Open, where he’s been drawn against Ben Shelton in the first round.

The Australian is also set to play doubles alongside Mattia Bellucci and the pair will play the all-American duo of Ethan Quinn and Learner Tien in round one.

The post Greg Rusedski says if Nick Kyrgios deserves a wildcard for Wimbledon this year appeared first on Tennis365.

Several of the biggest players on the ATP Tour have fallen by the wayside during this year’s grass court season.

Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury has seen him miss the entire swing, with confirmed appearances at Queen’s and Wimbledon nixed weeks in advance.

He is not the only player who has been forced out of a grass court event on the ATP Tour, though, with the likes of Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Valentin Vacherot, and Luciano Darderi all pulling out of Queen’s.

The grass court swing comes at an increasingly difficult time of year, after a very intensive period on the European clay court swing.

Three Masters 1000 events take place on the clay, as well as Roland Garros, and players always find it difficult to transition to the grass.

Asked how to stop the likes of Alcaraz missing key events on the calendar, John Lloyd issued a strong new rule proposal for the Grand Slams.

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Speaking on BBC’s coverage of Queen’s, “In my opinion, the calendar is awful. It has been for years. I think Grand Slams should be best of three sets anyway. I’ve said that for years. All the way through, or certainly from the quarter-finals. I’ve been saying this for years.

“We are going to see more and more injuries, mark my words, unless something is changed. It will happen, there will be more injuries. The best of five sets for four Slams, it’s not just the playing at the tournament that does it, it’s the preparation.

“Getting yourself in shape for those. During the season, as you’re playing in Miami, and Indian Wells, and so on, you get into the clay, and then you’ve got to up your training again ready for the French and Wimbledon. You ease off after Wimbledon for a couple of weeks and then you’ve got to get yourself ready for the US Open again. It’s insanity.”

Lloyd believes a best of three set match would still suffice for fans as the intensity of the matches will still be played at a very high level.

“In our day, the best of five in my day is the equivalent of the best of three sets now,” he said. “The physicality of the players is night and day to what it was in my day. We have to change this. We will get more injuries unless something is done.

“Best of five sets, when players have to come out from the starting point, every match will be dynamic. People remember great matches, but they remember them because they were at Slams. Not because it’s five hours, a three hour match will be remembered as much if they are at the Slams.”

Lloyd also believes the best of three format would suit evening sessions at the Grand Slams far better, as players won’t be playing until the early hours of the morning.

“It’s not so much about Wimbledon, because Wimbledon finishes at 11 o’clock. The other three Slams have evening sessions. Best of five sets, you cannot work it this way. The men’s matches get longer and longer, it’s ridiculous. Matches finish at 2 o’clock in the morning.

“No one wants it. People have gone home, people have to get to work the next day. The people watching on TV have nodded off. Players go to bed at 5.

“It can ruin a tournament for them. It’s insanity. If you’re going to have evening matches, you have to move it to best of three sets in my opinion.”

Evening sessions have become a staple on the circuit, with the Australian Open, the US Open, and Roland Garros embracing them over the years.

Several players, including Jannik Sinner, have expressed their discontent about having to leave the court at such a late time.

The post New rule suggested for Grand Slams due to Carlos Alcaraz missing Wimbledon appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu had a tournament to remember at Queen’s, but her last-minute withdrawal from the Nottingham Open leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Raducanu reached the final in London, picking up impressive victories against Iva Jovic, Sorana Cirstea, Anna Blinkova, and Kamilla Rakhimova across the week.

Her tournament was eventually ended by a red-hot Donna Vekic, who came through the match by a scoreline of 6-0, 7-6 to lift the Queen’s title.

Raducanu is up to a ranking of World No. 31 after her exploits in London, which puts her in seeded entry position for Wimbledon with just a few weeks to go until the top players are set.

However, Raducanu’s instant withdrawal from the Nottingham Open is an incredibly poor move – and should lead to a rule change from both the ATP and WTA Tour.

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Raducanu took a last-minute wildcard into the Nottingham Open ahead of her quarter-final match at Queen’s against Rakhimova, but she decided to drop out of the WTA 250 event after losing the final to Vekic.

While Raducanu has every right to withdraw from the event, taking a wildcard away from another British star to then drop out of the tournament is a selfish move.

She cited a ‘change of schedule’ as the reason for her withdrawal, rather than injury, so it should a complete lack of respect for her fellow British stars.

Tennis must introduce a rule that says players cannot withdraw from events if they have received a wildcard, unless they are legitimately injured.

It is currently unclear whether Raducanu will play another tournament ahead of Wimbledon, but an appearance at the Eastbourne Open prior to the Grand Slam could be on the cards.

She is not currently on the entry list for the South Coast event, but the Eastbourne Open would likely jump at the chance to give her a last-minute wildcard.

Let’s just hope Raducanu does not let the tournament down as she has done with the Nottingham Open. With no Iva Jovic or Jacqueline Cristian either, the WTA 250 event has been left with limited star power.

If Raducanu does enter the Eastbourne Open, she would be the third-highest-ranked player in the tournament, so she would have a very good chance of a deep run.

She has played the tournament in the past two years, and in 2024 she reached the quarter-finals of the event.

Only Jasmine Paolini and Madison Keys would be ranked higher than Raducanu, with Jelena Ostapenko, Barbora Krejčiková, Cristian, Maria Sakkari, Janice Tjen, and McCartney Kessler also signed up for the tournament.

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Elena Rybakina missed an opportunity to move closer to Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA Rankings while Emma Raducanu, Donna Vekic, Katie Boulter and, particular, Robin Montgomery enjoyed big jumps.

World No 2 Rybakina started last week 947 points behind Sabalenka, who has been at the top of the rankings since October 2024, and she had a chance to chip away at the lead at the Queen’s Club Championship as the world No 1 was not in action.

The reigning Australian Open champion had 108 points to defend from last year, but she once again failed to make it past the quarter-final in London, meaning the gap stays at 947 points, but she will get another shot this coming week as both will be in action at the Berlin Tennis Open.

The top two are followed by Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula, who also didn’t feature on the WTA Tour last week, while new French Open Mirra Andreeva moves up one place to No 5 with Amanda Anisimova down a spot after she lost in the quarter-final at Queen’s Club.

The rest of the top 10 is unchanged and you have to go down to No 17 for the next change with Iva Jovic climbing two spots after her run to the semi-final in London, while Ekaterina Alexandrova drops two places.

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But the biggest movers are further down with Raducanu rising 11 places to No 31 after she finished runner-up to Vekic at the HSBC Championship, giving her hopes of being seeded at Wimbledon a major boost.

Former world No 17 Vekic, meanwhile, dropped out of the top 100 in February, but she has worked her way back up and her title run at Queen’s Club has seen her surge 44 places to one spot behind Raducanu.

Alex Eala is another three places adrift as she dropped two places after losing in the round of 16.

Boulter was a semi-finalist in London as she is up 17 places to No 56 while quarter-finalists Kamilla Rakhimova is +13 to No 65 and Karolina Pliskova is +19 to No 87.

Ashlyn Krueger is +20 to No 93 after winning the WTA 125K title in Illkey with Ajla Tomljanovic three places behind her after rising 13 places with a run to the semi-final at ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Montgomery came through qualifying in the Netherlands and she was the last woman standing after Barbora Krejcikova withdrew from the final due to illess and the American has surged 290 places to No 194.

In terms of big droppers, Tatjana Maria won the 2025 Queen’s Club title, but she lost in the round of 16 this year and is -65 to No 116 while former world No 4 Zheng Qinwen is -32 to No 160 after a first-round exit.

WTA Top 20

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,090
2. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 8,143
3. Iga Swiatek Poland – 6,733
4. Jessica Pegula United States – 6,056
5. Mirra Andreeva – 5,751 (+1)
6. Amanda Anisimova United States – 5,631 (-1)
7. Coco Gauff United States – 4,879
8. Elina Svitolina Ukraine – 4,315
9. Victoria Mboko Canada – 3,670
10. Karolina Muchova Czechia – 3,388
11. Belinda Bencic Switzerland – 3,385
12. Marta Kostyuk Ukraine – 3,157
13. Linda Noskova Czechia – 3,054
14. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 2,617
15. Naomi Osaka Japan – 2,571
16. Diana Shnaider – 2,548
17. Iva Jovic United States – 2,436 (+2)
18. Sorana Cirstea Romania – 2,415 (+1)
19. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 2,4411 (-2)
20. Anna Kalinskaya – 2,212

The post WTA Rankings: Rybakina fails to close gap, Raducanu +11, Vekic +44, Boulter +17, Eala -2, Montgomery +294 appeared first on Tennis365.

Alexander Zverev believes he may have “broken the deadlock” to challenge for the No 1 ranking after his Grand Slam breakthrough.

In his fourth Grand Slam final, Zverev finally broke his duck in the majors after beating Flavio Cobolli in five sets to win his first Roland Garros crown.

The 29-year-old was under immense pressure to finally get over the line after Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the French Open due to injury and Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic’s early exits in Paris.

The 6ft 6in player held his nerve in an edgy encounter on Court Philippe Chatrier, as a lifelong dream was achieved in the French capital.

As he prepares to return to the ATP Tour in Halle, in his first grass court event of the year, Zverev has set his sights on ascending to the top of the rankings one day.

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That will not be an easy task as he currently sits third, nearly 3,000 points adrift of Alcaraz and more than 6,000 points behind the No 1 ranked Sinner.

However, it seems Zverev is of the view that this Grand Slam win can release the shackles around him.

He told Esquire, “I feel more complete now. It was always that one, all-important title that I was missing. Of course, there are milestones I still want to reach. Becoming world number one remains the ultimate goal. But the road to the top will be brutally tough.

“The two lads up there (Sinner and Alcaraz) are playing incredible tennis. They’re young and will dominate the tour over the next decade.

“But perhaps I’ve finally broken the deadlock. If I can maintain the level I showed in Paris, anything is possible. Let’s see what the future brings.”

Zverev admitted that when Sinner and Djokovic fell in the first week at the French Open, he endured a mental “marathon” for the remainder of the tournament.

He was the overwhelming favourite to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires and if he was unable to handle the pressure, that could have spelled doom for the 2021 Olympic Gold medallist.

He added, “I knew that if I lost, I would be finished on this court. So I had to do everything I could to win that match. By the final, I was completely worn out, both physically and emotionally. At the end of the fourth set, I started getting cramps.

“Strangely enough, that actually helped me emotionally, because I was so distracted by it that I was able to let go mentally. My arm swung more freely, I played much more freely, despite the physical problems. The fifth set was then also the best.”

Zverev continued, “I feel as though I can win more tournaments, because I know how to do it. That’s why the French Open was so important for me and my future.”

While Zverev is just 6-7 down to Alcaraz in their head to head, it seems there is more of a matchup issue against Sinner.

The Italian has won nine matches in a row against Zverev, with the 24-year-old leading their head to head 10-4.

Many of those victories have come in the best of three format, with Sinner racing away to comprehensive wins. So it remains to be seen if Zverev can take his game to their level.

WHAT ELSE? Queen’s Club: How many ranking points and prize money did Donna Vekic and Emma Raducanu earn? 

The post Alexander Zverev sends major warning to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner after French Open win appeared first on Tennis365.

When Emma Raducanu had her fairytale in New York nearly five years ago, few would have predicted what came next.

Andrew Richardson played a vital role in one of sport’s greatest underdog stories, and then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

The former British player was brought in on a short trial between Wimbledon and the US Open in 2021, and when that deal ended, they went their separate ways.

In 2023, Richardson told the Daily Mail, “The fact of the matter is that I had a nine-week trial contract that both Emma and I thought was a good idea to see how we would get on, and it ran through to the end of the US Open, stopping immediately afterwards.

“There was a period of time after that when I was keen to re-negotiate the contract. I wanted to carry on, and I had a plan that I wanted to put in place for Emma. This thing about ‘I wanted to go off and coach my son (Rocco)’ is not true, but it seems to come up all the time.

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“After probably ten days to two weeks (following the Open) I didn’t have a contract. We were in the process of re-negotiating and then I got a brief call from her agent telling me they were going to go in a different direction, and that was the end of it.”

Raducanu and her team are said to have wanted a coach with more experience going forward. They then turned to Torben Beltz but that was the first of many short-term stints.

Fast forward to the present, and Richardson is back in her camp in her 10th coaching appointment of her young career.

When asked if not continuing with the 52-year-old had been a mistake, Raducanu – who has a career-high ranking of 10th – somewhat defended her actions.

She told reporters in late May, “Everything in my life changed upside down. I didn’t really think I had a handle over the situation in the sense that I was being pulled left and right. I didn’t really know what was going on.

“A lot of experiences over the last few years have taught me about what I didn’t want. It taught me that I really value having people I trust and connect with around me. It’s really nice to have that feeling back.

“As a coach, I think he really believes in me, and he’s someone who doesn’t necessarily get wavered or put off by results. He’s very consistent, very solid. I’m naturally more emotional in the sense that I want things to happen quickly.”

Prior to the Queen’s Club final against Donna Vekic on Sunday, Raducanu’s record with Richardson was 14 wins and just three losses.

The US Open win and a 500 WTA Tour final. The two biggest weeks of her career in just five tournaments – nearly five years apart.

Although Raducanu ended up losing to Vekic in a 6-0 7-6 defeat, her efforts at Queen’s Club were hugely impressive.

Indeed, she was on double duty on Saturday to beat Kamilla Rakhimova and Iva Jovic in the quarter-final and semi-final, respectively. 

Raducanu was moving well, her conditioning was going from strength to strength, she was striking the ball as cleanly as ever, and she had a hugely supportive ‘gentle giant’ cheering her on in her corner.

While it is still early days and their sample size is still very small, it really does beg the question, ‘What might have been?’ with Raducanu and Richardson.

It is important to note that she was just 18 and her life was changed forever after that US Open miracle. Sponsors and other-worldly opportunities landed on her lap, while a constant media storm rained down on her.

Raducanu’s guard went up, she was scrutinised more than ever before, and she had a target on her back. And in all that furore, it could be argued some wrong decisions were made.

But now she is back with Richardson, Raducanu needs to stick with the Director of the Ferrer Tennis Academy. Prior to this week, the Brit had barely played this season.

Andy Roddick has repeatedly said that Raducanu – who admitted to struggling with motivation this year – needs to get as many matches in as possible, rather than being very selective with her schedule.

This year has been a frustrating one, with the youngster getting waylaid by a virus for two months. But she, Richardson and her fans will hope this is the start of something special.

Now is her chance to make up for lost time, correct a near five-year long mistake, and embark upon a new future with Richardson firmly in it.

WHAT NEXT? Emma Raducanu schedule: Next tournament and draw as as she looks to continue good form after Queen’s Club final

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