Emma Raduancau cannot afford to ‘dip in and out’ of tennis if she wants to realise her full potential, according to respected coach and tennis expert Mark Petchey.
Raducanu has lived through another inconsistent season in 2024, but the final analysis has to be seen in a positive light as she jumped 200 places in the world rankings and is currently sitting at No 59.
Her time on court has been limited due to injuries and her decisions not to play in qualifying for some key events and now Petchey has suggested she needs to focus all of her attention on the court next year.
Petchey worked as Andy Murray’s coach at the start of the Scot’s career and also advised Raducanu in the months before her remarkable US Open win three years ago, offered his thoughts on what comes next for Raducanu in his latest column with Betway.
“The harder you work, the easier it becomes when you play tennis matches,” said Petchey. “When you know you’ve put in the work the matches become ‘easier’ because your practice sessions should be arguably harder than the matches themselves.
“Emma is too good in my opinion not to succeed. She’s too athletic. She’s too motivated when she’s in between the lines. I think sometimes there have been a few times when she hasn’t been as prepared as she would like to be.
“I have 100 per cent confidence she will do the work in the off-season. There’s nobody out there that’s going to enjoy playing Emma when she’s fully fit and fully motivated. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to sit here and say to you that she’s going to be pushing a lot of the top 10 players consistently over the next twelve months.
“But there has to be a commitment to week in week out tournaments. The dipping in and out doesn’t help the physical side of things. I want her to have longevity in the sport. I don’t want her out of the sport at 26 or 27.
“Her team should be looking at how they manage her from here on in for another fifteen years of playing this sport if that’s what she wants to do. I think she’s well placed to do that.”
Petchey’s positive sentiments towards Raducanu will inevitably be greeted with hostility by online trolls who seem to enjoy mocking the young Brit, but this experienced tennis voice is convinced the good times will roll again for one of the most talked about players in the women’s game.
As he backs Raducanu to add to her haul of Grand Slam titles, he suggests she has the talent to achieve that aim in 2025.
“I’ll never limit her potential,” he added. “I genuinely believe she’ll win multiple majors before the end of her career. I think it’s a stretch to say that she could win the Australian Open, but I also don’t think it’s beyond the realms of possibility.
“All I know is that if she’s been healthy and she’s got enough matches under her belt heading into Australia and she gets a favourable draw she’ll have an opportunity to challenge for the title.
“Obviously, a more realistic goal right now would be reaching the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park.”
