The 21-year-old insists she’s inspired being back at the scene of her remarkable New York triumph and won’t change her methods whatever the criticism
When Emma Raducanu first returned to New York two years ago to defend her unprecedented 2021 US Open triumph from the qualifying rounds, things did not go as smoothly as she had hoped. A year of scrutiny and unwelcome pressure had taken its toll and, with her body so frail, it seemed an injury or ailment was always around the corner. Raducanu fell meekly in the first round without winning a set.
Having missed last year’s edition as she recovered from surgery, the 21-year-old returns to Flushing Meadows seemingly in a better position than since the aftermath of her victory.
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“I feel very proud when I come here,” she says. “Walking past my photo every day. Walking past my name on the trophy every day. I think that is such an epic achievement and these two weeks, I completed it. I come back with such a different outlook. Just joy and pride and it inspires me to want to do more.”
Throughout this summer, the British No 2 has spoken about finding the joy in tennis again, which had been difficult for so long. The results she has compiled over the past four months back up those sentiments. Raducanu has reached the quarter-finals or better at four of her past six tour events, had a run to the fourth round of Wimbledon and a defining role in Great Britain’s win over France on clay in the Billie Jean King Cup. Now firmly back inside the world’s top 100, she is consistently playing quality tennis.
The pressing question surrounding Raducanu is how much she is willing to play and whether she is truly ready to commit to the grind that is required of players to become great. She declined an opportunity to compete at the Olympics to prioritise starting her US hard-court swing early and not having to worry about the form difficulties and injury risks that come with switching surfaces.
Despite the criticism she received for that decision, there was clear logic to scheduling cautiously after her injuries. While her peers were in Paris, Raducanu enjoyed another solid week at the Washington WTA 500 event, reaching the quarter-finals before losing an extremely tight three-set tussle to the in-form Paula Badosa.
