"She goes into the tournament where she had her biggest result feeling better about her tennis" - Chanda Rubin on Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has had a tough time on the tour since winning the US Open as a qualifier last year. While her results haven't been bad for a 19-year-old, they certainly haven't lived up to the unrealistic expectations fans and the media put on her. The Brit hasn't made a tour-level semifinal since her Grand Slam victory.
However, Raducanu produced a couple of sublime performances last week in Cincinnati to dispatch multiple Grand Slam champions Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. She delivered a bagel to both of them before losing out to Jessica Pegula in the Round of 16.
In an episode of Tennis Channel's Inside-In, former World No. 6 Chanda Rubin said that the teenager was moving in the right direction ahead of the defense of her US Open title. Rubin opined that Raducanu was starting to feel better about her tennis, which should hold her in good stead going into the US Major.
"The most important part of it is, she goes into the tournament where she had her biggest result, where she wants to play well and defend to a certain degree, that she's feeling better about her tennis," she said.
The former Australian Open doubles champion remarked that it would have been even more difficult for the Brit if she lacked match practice going into the US Open.
"And the worst thing is to not have matches under your belt, to feel like you're just not quite there in terms of your form, going into this big event where you were celebrated as a champion just the year before," she said.
"Now Emma Raducanu is a Grand Slam champion, but with relatively little experience over the course of her career" - Chanda Rubin
While admitting that Raducanu has been through a difficult year, Chanda Rubin felt that the Brit "had a good mindset."
"So I think that's been a great sign for Emma Raducanu, and I think she's had a good mindset," she continued on the episode of Tennis Channel's Inside-In. "It hasn't been easy this last year, coming literally out of nowhere, coming from qualifying. That is just insane to think about it."
Rubin pointed out that although Raducanu is a Grand Slam champion, she still has relatively little experience in her career.
"And now she's a Grand Slam champion, but with relatively little experience over the course of a career," she said. "So I think she's been building. She has had the right mindset."
In fact, this is Emma Raducanu's first full season on the WTA tour. The 19-year-old will be hoping to replicate her dream run from last year at the US Open, which kicks off on August 29.