Chris Evert has told Tennis365 that Emma Raducanu could get back into the top 10 of the WTA Rankings, but her optimism came with a caveat.
Raducanu was resoundingly beaten by Iga Swiatek in a one-sided second-round clash at Roland Garros, with the Polish star beating the Brit 6-1, 6-2.
The chasm in class between the two players was evident throughout the match and Evert has given this website her exclusive thoughts on what comes next for Raducanu.
Seven-time Roland Garros winner Evert believes Raducanu’s 2021 US Open win may have hampered her development, as she suggests the magnitude of that success in New York has had a negative impact on her career.
Evert compared Raducanu’s stuttering career after her maiden Grand Slam win to that of Naomi Osaka, who enjoyed more sustained success but also struggled to deal with the scale of the fame her success generated.
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“I just feel she has lost so many years of her career because of the whole thing around the one big win,” Evert told Tennis365 in her role as a TNT Sports analyst at Roland Garros.
“It’s the same with Naomi. You could through so and all of a sudden you have that one big win.
“Emma is a beautiful girl and that probably didn’t help. The endorsements came in, the coaches were coming in an out and still her expectations are right up there now.
“She’s not there yet. She’s got to build, go back to the drawing board and build-up slowly. Maybe she had to swallow her pride a little because she’s not up there yet.”
Evert went on to suggest Raducanu can aim to get back in the mix at the top of the game, even though she questioned whether that US Open win almost four years ago was as a result of circumstances as much as the brilliance of a then 18-year-old player who shone without any expectations on her shoulders.
“I think she can get top 10 again,” added Evert. “If there is a solid commitment from her, I think top 10 can happen again.
“You have to remember a lot of people [top players] lost when she won that US Open and the player Emma beat in the final, Leylah Fernandez, had nothing left.
“Leylah beat three players in the top five. Emma didn’t beat anyone in the top ten. I remember commenting on the match and you could see that.
“If Leylah had won, her life may have changed forever, but Emma is the one who had to live through that experience. We will never see a qualifier come through and do what she did again, but it was tough for her after that.”
Former British No 1 Tim Henman also spoke to Tennis365 at Roland Garros, as he suggested Raducanu’s defeat against Swiatek highlighted why the British player needs to set realistic expectations for what she can achieve in her career.
“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 told Tennis365.
“Now she has got a good team around her and I hope she sticks with it. 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.
“I’m sure she will be licking some wounds after that defeat (against Swiatek) and the upside of finishing early at Roland Garros is she can put the clay court shoes away, head home and get ready for grass. I don’t have any concerns so long as she keeps on this path.”
Raducanu will now take some time off before focusing on the grass court season and while the players at the top of the women’s game appear to be a step or two ahead of her, her tennis story in 2025 is on an upward trajectory.
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