Emma Raducanu will be hoping to challenge for glory at this year’s US Open.
“She’s not a player who needs a huge amount of matches going into a big event,” Robson told the PA news agency.
“I think we’ve seen that before, where she might play the week before, just to get some fine-tuning done, but she really enjoys the training block and plays her best tennis when she’s coming off a really strong couple of weeks of practice.
“It’s a really good sign that, yes, she’s had a few matches and has some confidence and some wins under her belt, but also has the chance to get to New York feeling as fresh as possible, whereas everyone else is probably feeling a bit shattered already.”
Raducanu produced one of the great sporting stories when she became the first British woman since Virginia Wade to win the US Open in 2021. It seems unlikely that she will be able to replicate those heroics, but another Brit might just be in a position to do it.
Katie Boulter broke into the world’s top 30 earlier this year and Robson believes she will be aiming high despite the likes of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka standing in her way.
“Why not? She wouldn’t be playing unless she believed that as well,” added Robson. “She absolutely wants to be the best and has put in so much hard work over the last two years to see that rise in her ranking.
“At every tournament, it feels like there’s a surprise quarter-finalist or semi-finalist. I think that just shows the depth in the game at the moment, but also that you know anything can happen if you’re in the best possible position.
“If you’ve done the preparation and everything else to get yourself there, then it’s absolutely open, so just knowing that she believes then sure, why not?”
