Emma Raducanu defended by Billie Jean King with ‘very patient’ message
Emma Raducanu defended by Billie Jean King with ‘very patient’ message
Billie Jean King believes people should stay “very patient” with Emma Raducanu as the Brit looks to end her 2024 on a high.
Raducanu returned to tour in 2024 following a lengthy injury absence, undergoing surgery on her ankle and both her wrists midway through 2023.
The 22-year-old has battled back to sit inside the top 60 of the WTA Rankings in 2024, though has still struggled at points physically across the season.
Raducanu skipped the French Open and the majority of the hard court summer due to physical concerns, while she missed the majority of the Asian swing after sustaining a ligament injury at the Korea Open.
The Brit is in Billie Jean King Cup action this week for Great Britain, with the world No 58 set to face Eva Lys in her singles rubber when Britain takes on Germany later on Friday.
Speaking to BBC Sport, King – who the event is named in tribute to – said it was still too early to judge Raducanu amid her ongoing comeback from 2023’s injury issues.
“If she can stay healthy long enough, then we’ll see how good she is,” King said.
“But if you keep getting injured, you never get that momentum going. If you’ve been injured – really injured – I always want to give a player at least a year and a half to recover.
“It takes a lot to come back from injury and you have got to be very patient.”
Raducanu played a starring role for Great Britain in sealing the nation’s place in the Finals in Malaga, winning both her singles rubbers in a stunning qualifying win over France in April.
She will be the nation’s second singles player in the event, with national No 1 Katie Boulter leading the line.
Boulter has won two WTA titles this season and heads into the event as the world No 24, having started 2024 outside of the top 50.
And King believes that the 28-year-old deserves more credit for her improvements in recent seasons.
She said: “Katie Boulter, people should pay attention to her.
“I’ve been watching her for about five years now and every year she has got a little bit better – I don’t think people appreciate her enough. She’s got quicker, she’s got more consistent.”
Boulter will play Jule Niemeier in her rubber for Britain when they face Germany on Friday.
The winner of that Round of 16 clash goes on to face defending champions and top seeds Canada, who received a bye into the quarter-final stage of the event.
Action in Malaga was delayed by one day following heavy rain and flooding in the city, though was able to resume on Thursday.
Japan defeated Romania to book a quarter-final versus Italy, while Slovakia shocked the United States to set up a last eight clash against Australia.
