Former world No 1 Andy Roddick has given his verdict on Emma Raducanu’s exit from the Australian Open as he questioned the way the Brit’s career is being managed.
World No 29 Raducanu fell 6-7(3), 2-6 to 55th-ranked Anastasia Potapova in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The 2021 US Open champion revealed during the off-season that her intention was to “play less” in 2026.
“I would say that next year, I hope to play less than I did this year,” Raducanu told the BBC Today Programme.
Raducanu’s preparations for the season were hampered by a foot bone bruising injury.
Speaking on his Served podcast, Roddick reacted to Raducanu’s loss to Potapova and expressed his surprise at the 23-year-old wanting to play less.
“Upset on paper, but I had Raducanu losing in the second round. I love Raducanu, I think she’s wildly intelligent, her game is obviously fantastic,” said the American.
“I read some stuff sometimes, where it’s like, ‘I played great in the second round’, I’m like, man, I don’t want you to be okay with it.
“I read something this off-season where she was saying she wants to play less this year. Play less? You’re a Grand Slam champion who is 30 in the world; you have got to play more! I want her to want to play more.
“You don’t know all of it, but when you have an off-season to train, and you’ve taken that off-season, you should be coming in pretty healthy.
“Obviously, we can’t control all of the factors involved, so I don’t know what I don’t know. But I saw that from Emma, I was like, Earth wants you to play more.
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“I don’t know, you haven’t played a full season, it’s been five years since the Open win, at some point we’re going to have to get to it being a job.”
The 2003 US Open winner also argued Raducanu will not return to the upper echelons of the rankings if she does not fully commit to improving physically.
“Maybe it’s at the point where it’s like, how about we don’t play until we’re fully ready and then we play a lot,” Roddick continued.
“Let’s either fully pull back and fully commit and become a physical machine, with training and time and intent. But half in, half out… I don’t know, at some point, we’re going to have to come up with a strategy.
“I don’t think the way that it is being managed now is going to manifest in a top five or a top 10 ranking. It’s just not.
“I would love to be wrong about this because I think she’s great for the game.”
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