Emma Raducanu must find a project she can trust and stick to it if she is to “fall in love” with tennis again on her comeback. That’s according to Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who has offered some words of advice to the British star as she prepares to return to the courts after a lengthy absence through injury.
Raducanu shot to stardom as a teenager in 2021 when she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open era, clinching the US Open in New York without dropping a single set.
She reached World No. 10 in July 2022, but has yet to win a single WTA title since her unexpected triumph at Flushing Meadows and has been hampered by injuries, poor form and routinely changing coaches.
Out of action since April, the Brit underwent ankle and wrist surgeries but is now back on the comeback trail. Having dropped outside the top 100, she will play in the Aukland Open next month after accepting a wildcard place but faces the prospect of having to play in qualifiers to make it into the main draw of the Australian Open.
French tennis coach Mouratoglou is pleased to see that Raducanu is close to a return but has urged her to find a trainer that she can trust and when she does, stick with the project for the long term in a bid for sustained success.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Mouratoglou said: “I know that Raducanu is coming back, which is great news for British tennis. She has suffered a lot both in her tennis, in her results and after that with injuries, but I hope she can find some stability around her because without stability, she’s not going to be able to achieve her potential and that would be sad.
“Let’s hope that she can stay injury-free at the start of the season and that she can find someone who can help her fall in love with the game and tennis again for her future.
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“Can she trust a project and to follow that project for long enough to be able to make real progress that she needs to do in order to achieve her potential? What hurt her so much is all those changes because you cannot change your tennis project every three months, it doesn’t make sense.
“I understand it’s not easy to trust someone but that’s also what makes the careers of players. They have the ability to stick to people that they believe in, to a project they believe in and not change whenever there is anything wrong because it’s a marathon.
“You have to accept that during a marathon you have ups and downs and every time you have a little down you get rid of the people, you can’t reach the finish line in one day.”
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