Thoughts on Emma Raducanu

[jeffreycounts]

At the Citi Open Emma lost in the quarter finals to Ludmilla Samsonova, the 42nd ranked player in the world. After that she lost to Camilla Giorgi, the 29th player in the world in the round of 64 at the Canadian Open. This isn't too promising for the defending US Open champion in terms of being able to defend her title. She is getting killed in the media for not living up to expectations, with people really zeroing on her revolving coaching situation.

However, I think the general perception is a bit off. Emma is not a massive hitter. She's no Serena Williams that can out serve and out hit her opponents. She's also no Ash Barty in terms of pure talent, experience, and a complete game. Instead, she is an excellent player with a very high tennis IQ who got on a roll last year at the Open and got very, very lucky when Ash Barty lost to Shelby Rogers. That really opened up the draw for her. At that point, instead of facing the number one seed and the number one player in the world, Emma was now looking at unseeded Shelby Rogers, followed by Sakkari the 17th seed and then unseeded Leylah Fernandez (who miraculously knocked out the number 2 seed Sabalenka) in the finals. That's a pretty damn lucky series of events when you can win a slam and the highest ranked player you have to beat is 17 in the world and the finals is against an unseeded player. Now the fact that she won the whole thing as a qualifier, even with the crazy draw, is unbelievable. It's a testament to her ability on the court and her mental toughness. But it does not follow for me that she is a top ten type player in the world based on that run.

Personally, I think Emma is a top 20 player. If she improves her serve then maybe top 10 at best. But I also think she is absolutely rich, made tennis history, and is going to be a huge draw for her polish, looks, and excellent game for years to come (if she can stay healthy). If all she ever does is win that one US Open, her career will still be more lucrative and more accomplished than 99% of professional tennis players. Who wouldn't take that?

Just my thoughts.

[arturohernandez]

Great post!! Yes, ironic that Agassi had as much if not more success than Sampras in dollars and Federer much more than Nadal and Djokovic. Not on the court but in the ways that they impacted society in general. Agassi was a marketing powerhouse who ended up making more money than Pete. Federer is a powerhouse and appears to be the second richest tennis player behind Ion Tiriac.

Kournikova never won as much as Emma and is worth 50 million. Such are our times where making money can happen with celebrity beyond actual accomplishments on the court.

Emma had a great run. I have watched her play a few matches over the last year and she seems easily overpowered in matches these days. Leylah is much more aggressive and to me will have the better ranking and record in the long run. Her game style is clear and she may one day win a French Open. But I doubt she will make as much money.

Ash was the most impressive of all players and Emma was lucky not to have to face her. She would find a weakness and then exploit it by prying at the 2hbh until she got a forehand she could hit. Simple and so effective. Of course, there was the true all court game, the serve and great return.

Making a living off of tennis is almost impossible. Emma is already worth 5 million dollars. If she manages to have a good career and generate greater earnings she should have a very comfortable life. I am guessing that a few decimals will end up being placed after the 99% pushing her closer to 100% than to 99% of all professional tennis players.

[jeffreycounts]

Great points. Kournikova really is a perfectexample of someone who transformed the sport without ever winning a slam. She made girls want to play the game and she sure could draw a crowd. I agree with you about Leylah as well. She doesn’t have the massive endorsements but I think her career might be better in the end. I’m a huge Leylah fan and would love to see her win a slam.

[seano]

I was a big fan of her US Open win, was really looking forward to seeing her play live. Just finished watching Emma at the Citiopen in Washington DC. and came away not really impressed. No real weapons and lapses in concentration and taking advantage of her leads. Let players hang around too long then barely ecked out a set or match. Looking at her on change overs, she looked distant and wasn't sure she wanted to continue in the extreme heat.

She's not a power player and will need to make technical changes to allow her game to grow. She's really good for the game and want her to have a brilliant career. Hope John will have articles on her game.

Sean

[jimlosaltos]

Good assessments all.

I'd add one thing. Emma was not at tennis facilities being intensively drilled on tennis the last few years; she was in school, as I understand it.

Perhaps, if we're patient, we'll see her develop more now, catch up and pass some of her age group?

[jeffreycounts]

Good assessments all.

I'd add one thing. Emma was not at tennis facilities being intensively drilled on tennis the last few years; she was in school, as I understand it.

Perhaps, if we're patient, we'll see her develop more now, catch up and pass some of her age group?

Good point, which is why her US Open run last year was so unexpected.

[bababa]

What about her serve motion?

[stotty]

Super thread...super discussion.

I still think Emma is a good prospect. Her run at the US Open was utterly remarkable. You can only beat who is in front of you and if the so-called top players get knocked out before you get the chance to play them then perhaps those players weren't so good after all. Her run actually started at Wimbledon two months earlier where she reached the fourth round in similar fashion. She had to retire due to some hyper ventilating problem as I recall.

She isn't a big hitter but then neither is Novak much of the time. People often remark how much more slowly he hits the ball than it appears on TV. But he is precise and misses very little. Emma could do with being a little the same perhaps.

What she had for during he amazing spell, both at SW19 and the US, was consistency and control and the ability to press and not go away. She had confidence. She seems to have lost that these elements of late.

I just think she is distracted. She needs a stable coaching set up that she trusts and believes in.

Emma won the US Open without any WTA experience, which is incredible. What does that say about Emma? Or does it say more about the Ladies tour? You tell me.

She's 19 and number 10 in the world. It ain't that bad.

[jimlosaltos]

I wonder how these four teens will rank in, say, 5 years?

Leylah Fernandez 19 yo
Coco Gauff 18 yo
Emma Raducanu 19 yo
Qinwen Zheng, 19 yo

[stotty]

An interesting game coming up for Emma against Serena. I wonder which way it will go with Serena well past her best these days.

[stotty]

I wonder how these four teens will rank in, say, 5 years?

Leylah Fernandez 19 yo
Coco Gauff 18 yo
Emma Raducanu 19 yo
Qinwen Zheng, 19 yo

Let's keep an on them and see what 2027 brings, assuming the world hasn't gone up in smoke by then.

[arturohernandez]

I wonder how these four teens will rank in, say, 5 years?

Leylah Fernandez 19 yo
Coco Gauff 18 yo
Emma Raducanu 19 yo
Qinwen Zheng, 19 yo

I would expect Coco Gauff to be in the top 10 for sure. I still think that her forehand technique is her main obstacle. It looks like a WTA forehand that breakdown when she has little time, is on the run or it is out of her strike zone.

I think Emma may be out of tennis if she does not improve her ranking. She is a star outside of tennis and may just decide to stop working so hard when she can make just as much without all the fuss of tennis.

Leylah is a wild card for me. She is not big but has an extremely well tailored game for her body type. My guess is top 10 with a possible Roland Garros because of her movement and the time that clay gives her to be able to hit.

Qinwen Zheng is off my radar.

[stotty]

So Emma sweeps aside both Serena and Azarenka. Has she finally turned a corner? Let's hope so. She is so good for the game.

[arturohernandez]

So Emma sweeps aside both Serena and Azarenka. Has she finally turned a corner? Let's hope so. She is so good for the game.

I saw that too. She looks good in both matches. Maybe a little like Sampras who took a couple of years after his meteoric breakthrough to really excel.

Sometimes sudden success looks like the new normal when it was a big upward blip that takes a while to consolidate.

[jeffreycounts]

So Emma sweeps aside both Serena and Azarenka. Has she finally turned a corner? Let's hope so. She is so good for the game.

It’s a great run. 6-0 on Serena is a statement that’s for sure. But then she followed it with. 6-0 on Azarenka. That’s crazy. She had some magic at the US Open last year and if she goes into it with confidence it will be to watch her.

Just hope she doesn’t fire her coach in the meantime.