What constitutes success for Emma Raducanu?
It is a question Tim Henman posed as he spoke to Tennis365 at this year’s French Open, with the answer always likely to be affected by her unique history.
“What is success? It is for her to get back into the top 30 or maybe the top 10? It’s about being the best version of yourself and maximising your potential,” Henman said when he spoke to Tennis365 at Roland Garros.
“She’s already had a positive year. She has played lots of tournaments, been on court for a lot of matches and built up that physical resilience over what is a long season.
“We all know the expectations around Emma are different compared to everyone else, but we need to see the bigger picture here and it has to be that she is making progress in all areas of her game.”
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When you become the first player in tennis history to come through qualifying and win a Grand Slam, the bar of success and the scrutiny on your is going to be more inflated than it would be for anyone else.
Thus has been the story for Raducanu since her incredible 2021 US Open triumph, with her failure to repeat that success a predictable outcome for a player who peaked when she was 18.
The sponsors she attracted added to the pressure that built up around Raducanu, with too many cynics appearing to delight in her failure as she limped from one injury and one coach to the next in double quick time
Yet if any other player was sitting at No 34 in the world at the age of 22, ignoring everything she has come through all that she has over the last four years, it would be considered a story of steady progress.
A British female player in the top 20 of the WTA Rankings has been something of a rarity in recent years, but that could be where Raducanu ends 2025 if she can string some wins together in the final few weeks of the season.
Raducanu’s decision to skip playing for Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup and play a WTA 500 event in Korea instead next week may have been seen as a little unpatriotic by some, but others will suggest it was a sign of her ambition.
She has a stated aim of being seeded for the Australian Open in January and a handful of wins between now and the end of the season should secure that ambition.
With limited ranking points to defend from this time last year, Raducanu has a huge chance to build momentum and climb back into the top 30 and maybe even the top 20 of the WTA Rankings if she picks up some wins in upcoming WTA 1000 events in Asia.
Overall, she has put in a solid year that has included wins in all four Grand Slam events, as well as runs to the quarter-finals in the WTA 500 events in Miami and at the Queen’s Club.
If Raducanu could add a quarter-final appearance in a WTA 1000 event to her record over the next few weeks, that Australian Open seeding will be secured and then she can start to target even more in 2026.
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The post Emma Raducanu closing in on big rankings target in final weeks of the season appeared first on Tennis365.
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