3 Reasons why Emma Raducanu won't win US Open 2022
British No. 1 and teen sensation Emma Raducanu is the defending US Open champion, but the oddsmakers currently have the World No. 10 listed as an 18-1 long shot to repeat. Below are three reasons why betting on the young Brit to repeat as champion is a bad bet waiting to happen.
#1 Dodgy results
Remember last September when Raducanu blazed through three qualifying matches and seven main draw contests without dropping a set? It was an amazing run and the tennis world began to speculate on how great she would be.
#CitiOpen
At @CitiOpen today, I asked @EmmaRaducanu what she’s learned about herself since winning the @usopen last year: “I’ve learnt I’m pretty resilient. I’ve pretty much been knocked down every single week literally in front of everyone and got back up every single time.” 🎾 #CitiOpen https://t.co/RU12b49d4Q
Since her historic run, we haven’t seen much of that Emma, and instead Raducanu has posted a below .500 WTA tour record of 9-12 and is currently 2-5 on hard courts this season.
Emma Raducanu will be seeded and in the early rounds won’t likely face anyone in the top 50. Her record against the top 50 in the game is brutal; Raducanu is 3-5 against the best in the game, whereas her tremendous run was highlighted by five stunning wins over the top 50.
#2 Coaching carousel
Changing coaches in the WTA is nothing new, but Raducanu has likely had seven to eight voices in her head since last August.
Soon after her historic title, Raducanu split with coach Andrew Richardson and entered her first full WTA season with veteran coach Torben Beltz. The partnership ended after just five short months, and she’s turned to a number of sources since then.
She’s caused some controversy in England with her recent choice of working with Russian coach and former top-20 player Dmitry Tursunov. This partnership is allegedly on an “interim” basis, but he’s with her this week in Washington.
I think Emma Raducanu underestimates the impact of her decision to work with a Russian coach. Like the fact that her sponsors might terminate collaborations to reduce their risk of reputational damage. tennis.com/news/articles/…
None of this is good for a developing player, and likely has more to do with her inconsistent play than anything else.
#3 She’s the hunted now
Last year, Emma Raducanu was a schoolgirl and part-time tennis player, most notably known for having an anxiety attack in her fourth-round match at Wimbledon.
Flash forward one year, she’s now the defending champion with international recognition thanks in no small part to several endorsement deals valued in the hundreds of millions.
Her struggles with health, inconsistent coaching, and poor results are widely noted and seen by some as an excuse for the didgy post US Open results.
This season she’ll likely play her opening match at Arthur Ashe Stadium and due to her high seeding she’ll likely play a qualifier or considerably lower ranked player.
She’ll likely enter her title defense against an unknown first-round opponent, with nothing to lose and everything to gain by dropping Raducanu in Ashe.
Raducanu probably won’t have a coach and will be forced to defend her title with limited professional support, and that can’t be a good thing.
Can Emma Raducanu catch lightning in a bottle and repeat? Of course, she can, and I hope she does. I just won’t be betting on that to happen, and neither should you.