{"id":1797,"date":"2026-02-27T13:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1797"},"modified":"2026-02-27T13:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:30:28","slug":"emma-raducanu-why-the-critics-are-missing-the-point-when-they-question-the-british-no-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1797","title":{"rendered":"Emma Raducanu: Why the critics are missing the point when they question the British No 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been another eventful week in Emma Raducanu\u2019s<\/a> world and not for the first time, her critics have been out in force to question her.<\/p>\n

Confirmation that she has made a bold switch from Nike to Uniqlo in a deal reported to be worth $3.5m-a-year threw up plenty of discussion on social media channels, with the usual band of critics quick to suggest Raducanu didn\u2019t deserve to such lavish deals given her lack of success on the court since her iconic 2021 US Open win.<\/p>\n

What those critics fail to appreciate is that Raducanu has always been more than just a tennis player and in a world where influencers are worth so much more if they have genuine influence, Emma is a prized asset.<\/p>\n

With millions of followers on Instagram and a loyal following from fans who embraced her breakthrough story at the US Open four-and-a-half years ago, Raducanu\u2019s journey is still one of the most compelling in tennis, even if she is not competing for Grand Slam titles.<\/p>\n

Her battle back into the top 30 in the rankings is an achievement that cannot be ignored and in the opinion of former British No 1 Greg Rusedski, the<\/p>\n

More Tennis News<\/p>\n

Emma Raducanu\u2019s record with Mark Petchey as coach revealed as pair reunite<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Emma Raducanu reunites with coach who said she had \u2018one choice\u2019 ahead of Indian Wells<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe deal probably makes a lot of sense for them because they look for brand ambassadors and they look for Instagram followers, they look to TikTok to all those things in social media,\u201d he saon the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cShe has a following, you know, in the UK, she has a following internationally. She has the Chinese market, she has multiple marketplaces there. So for a Japanese company, it probably makes a lot of sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think the deal is not only on court, but it will be off court as well. So that makes sense. And your contracts are not always based on your tennis ranking. They\u2019re also based on your followers, so they\u2019re looking at it as a business point of view. They\u2019re taking a punt that they\u2019re hoping she gets back in the top 10, can start competing for slams again and win one, that would be the ultimate.<\/p>\n

Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re also looking off court and does she generate enough press publicity and will we get a return on investment? They have done their numbers and it\u2019s a very, very successful company. So I think it\u2019s a great partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to go really well. For me, fingers crossed, Emma needs to get healthy and get the tennis together. And I think it\u2019s worth the punt even paying her that much money to go with Uniqlo. So I think it\u2019s a good deal. Let\u2019s keep fingers crossed that Emma can get some great performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other big news around Raducanu this week was the confirmation that Mark Petchey would be back in her coaching box for next week\u2019s WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells.<\/p>\n

As was the case when Petchey came into her team at a similar stage of last season, the arrangement appears to be temporary, with the prospect of the coach who clearly injects some joy into the Raducanu camp continuing in his role into the Miami Open later in March likely as he will be at that event in his role as a pundit on the Tennis Channel.<\/p>\n

Petchey has made it clear in the past that he is not open to ending his media career and focusing on coaching Raducanu and that is understandable given the brief relationship she has had with numerous coaches since her US Open win.<\/p>\n

What the last week has done is give Raducanu a chance to reset and try to find some renewed belief after a troubled start to 2026 that has been dominated by health and fitness issues.<\/p>\n

Some were suggesting her passion of the game may have been waning as she has struggled to get through matches in recent months, but her new sponsor and the return to Petchey give her a fresh platform to kick on once again.<\/p>\n

It is easy to criticise Raducanu, but this 23-year-old is more than good enough to silence those doubters as she starts a new era with Uniqlo and a revamped coaching team.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu gets candid advice as she is told to copy Roger Federer coaching move<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Emma Raducanu: Why the critics are missing the point when they question the British No 1<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been another eventful week in Emma Raducanu\u2019s world and not for the first time, her critics have been out in force to question her. Confirmation that she has made a bold switch from Nike to Uniqlo in a deal reported to be worth $3.5m-a-year threw up plenty of discussion on social media channels, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1797\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}