Big questions are being asked about Emma Raducanu’s next steps after she offered up intriguing comments after her Australian Open exit, with the future of coach Francisco Roig questions after she suggested her tactics are not producing results.
Raducanu sparked questions over he next steps after she said she would take time to evaluate where she wanted her game to go after a second round defeat in Melbourne against Anastasia Potapova.
“I think I’m going to take a few days, get back home and try and just re-evaluate my game a bit,” Raducanu told reporters.
“Watch it back, see where I can improve. What I have been feeling and also what is visually apparent. I definitely want to feel better on certain shots before I start playing again.
“I want to be playing a different way, and I think the misalignment with how I’m playing right now and how I want to be playing is something that I just want to work on.
More Tennis News
Emma Raducanu’s next three WTA events after early Australian Open exit
Everything Emma Raducanu said in candid press conference after her Australian Open exit
“At the end of the day, I just want to hit the ball to the corners and hard. I feel like I’m doing all this variety, and it’s not doing what I want it to do. I need to just work on playing in a way more similar to how I was playing when I was younger.”
Those comments inevitably sparked debate over the future of Roig in Raducanu’s team, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski believes the hype around the 2021 US Open champion has a negative impact on her.
Tennis365 has been given an exclusive clip from the new episode of the Off Court Cuts podcast, as Rusedski urged Raducanu to stick with Roig and focus on getting herself fit.
“A lot of people were disappointed that Emma lost against Potapova because we were hoping for the rematch against [Aryna] Sabalenka, but I think the press have been a little bit hard on her of late,” began Rusedski.
“She didn’t have the ideal preparation because in the United Cup, she didn’t start the event and we didn’t know if she was going to make it and the same with the Australian Open.
“I think physically, from my point of view, that’s where she is struggling. I don’t think she is back to 100 per-cent health and I think sometimes we just put too much expectation on Emma.”
The speculation around Roig’s future will intensify after Raducanu’s comments, but Rusedski has urged the Brit to stick with the respected coach.
“She has a good team around her,” he added. “I don’t think Francisco Roig is getting enough credit for what he is doing.
“Mark Petchey was with Emma at Wimbledon and she had a good run, but since then [with Roig] if you look at the results from Cincinnati all the way in, it’s positive.
“She pushed [Aryna] Sabalenka close and lost 7-6 in the third, she had match points against [Jessica] Pegula, she lost a tight match to Barbora Krejcikova. She had all these good performances, but not the big breakthrough.
“So you can see she is building momentum and I still feel Roig is the right person for her. It’s having that consistency of relationship.
“A lot of people have been said should not be continuing, but I disagree. I still feel he is the right man for Emma.”
Raducanu has been nursing a foot problem in recent weeks that had a big impact on her pre-season preparations and she will be eager to get fully fit before pondering what comes next in this new season.
READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu’s latest comments hint at another big change – could it be the end of another coach?
The post Former British No 1 gives an alternative Emma Raducanu verdict after her Australian Open exit appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply