Emma Raducanu is closing in on a prize money breakthrough after her career total was boosted by her impressive run to the Miami Open quarter-finals.
Raducanu had endured a challenging start to 2025 on and off the court, as she struggled to find her form and slumped to a series of disappointing results.
She was also troubled by a worrying incident while she was playing in Dubai, as a man displaying what was described as ‘fixated’ behaviour was ejected from the tournament venue after trying to attend Raducanu’s match against Karolina Muchova.
Raducanu confirmed she considered taking a break from tennis following that incident, but she opted to travel to America for the WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami and that proved to be a successful decision.
She beat top 10 player Emma Navarro and the in-form Amanda Anisimova during her run in Miami and is back in the top 50 of the WTA Rankings after her impressive performances in Miami, before losing to world No 4 Jessica Pegula in a high-quality contest.
Her performances inspired tennis legend Martina Navratilova suggesting can contend at the top of the game if she plays as she did in her impressive run in Florida.
“If she stays healthy and plays this well, then she’ll be seeded at Roland Garros,” Navratilova told Sky Sports Tennis. “I think she’ll move up the ranking well enough into the top 30. The biggest question mark is her health.
“Hopefully she can sort out her coaching situation because she’s been in a state of flux, but I think she needs to commit to somebody and stay with them for a little bit, see how that works. If she played like she did against Pegula, then the sky’s the limit.”
Raducanu will now turn her attention to the clay court season and while the red European dirt is not her best surface, she has a big chance to climb the rankings as she had limited points to defend from this stage of last season.
She is also likely to break through a prize money barrier in the next few weeks, with her run in Miami taking her career earnings on court to $4,905,433.
The bulk of that total comes from the $2.5m she earned winning the 2021 US Open, with that success securing Raducanu some lucrative sponsorship deals that hugely boosted her financial position.
Now she has made it clear that she wants her focus to be on the court as she looks to avoid distractions from sponsors.
Emma Raducanu News
Emma Raducanu’s ranking, prize money, sponsors and her next tournament
Why Emma Raducanu was a big winner despite her Miami Open defeat
“I’m obviously very grateful and fortunate to have had certain experiences and opportunities but I wasn’t prepared for the other things that inevitably do take some energy out of you,” she said at the start of this year.
“Especially straight after I did really well, for the next few years it was very much like there was so much communication about things off the court.
“And I would always, always give my 100 per cent on the court. I was always working really hard, but I just think that I wasn’t prepared as well for the other things that inevitably do take some energy out of you.
“I think now I’m a lot more structured. I’ll be like: ‘OK, I have this time where one hour we will talk about business. And now I’m going to go train for the rest of the week’.
“Also I think I’ve learned how to say no a bit more. Initially, I felt really bad for letting people down. I’d always want to do extra for whatever partner or magazine or whatever I’m shooting for.”
Former British No 1 Tim Henman has given his verdict on Raducanu, as he suggested her fitness was the key element that will make or break here season after injury issues over the last couple of years.
“For me, building physical resilience is most important because she has almost had her career back to front,” Henman told Sky Sports News.
“Qualifying and winning that Slam without the foundation physically and her body was breaking down when she was in competition.
“The big positive this year is she has been able to compete more consistently and hopefully the results are going to come.
“She played some brilliant tennis in Miami. She has been looking to build that momentum on the match court and it’s great that she has competed a lot more this year after Australia.
“The results haven’t been there, but when you are putting in that hard work [on court] and in the gym with her physical trainer, I thought her movement both offensively and defensively looked fantastic.
“The turning point was the Emma Navarro match, which she won 7-6 in the third. To beat a top 10 player in that fashion would have given her a lot of confidence.
“The four wins she had will give her a lot of belief moving forward.
READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu ‘takes a risk’ every time she goes on court says Patrick Mouratoglou
The post Emma Raducanu closing in on stunning prize money breakthrough after Miami Open run appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply