John McEnroe on Emma Raducanu: "You don’t win a Grand Slam by luck, she can come back and challenge again"
Former American tennis player and seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe has backed Emma Raducanu to rediscover her form and challenge for titles on the WTA tour once again.
Just three months after making her tour-level main-draw debut in Nottingham in 2021, Raducanu rose to fame when she entered the US Open as a qualifier and clinched the title without dropping a set. That victory made her the first female British Grand Slam singles winner in over 40 years and the first qualifier ever to win a Major singles title.
Since then, however, the Brit has endured a difficult time on the tour. Last year, she registered a 17-19 win-loss record. Six months after reaching a career-high ranking of World No. 10, the youngster dropped to No. 75 in the WTA rankings.
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Raducanu's start to the 2023 campaign has not been anything to write home about either. She defeated Linda Fruhvirtova before an injury forced her to retire from her Round-of-16 match against qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova at the ASB Classic.
Then, at the Australian Open, she defeated Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round before going down 6-3, 7-6 (4) to Coco Gauff.
Former World No. 1 McEnroe has now come out in Raducanu's defense, stating that 2022 was an 'overwhelming' year for the 20-year-old.
Speaking to Tennis 365, he said:
“I think the last year has been overwhelming, obviously. She has gone through a lot of changes in her life and now she has had issues with injuries. Everyone in the tennis world is hopeful that she can embrace what’s happening with her and hope that she gets back to the level she showed at the US Open.
"We just all want to see her compete and enjoy the challenge in front of her, I’m sure she can have a great year.”
The 63-year-old added:
“Ultimately, tennis is a competition and you have to find way to deal with that. I wish Emma all the best. Let’s put this on the record. You don’t win a Grand Slam by luck. She is great player and can come back and challenge again.”
Former Olympic champion Monica Puig urges Emma Raducanu not to focus on social media
Former Puerto Rican player Monica Puig believes that Emma Raducanu is better off not focussing on social media as it could be too 'toxic' for her. The 2016 Olympic champion remarked that the 20-year-old has to now deal with both fans and detractors.
"Don't focus on social media because we all know that social media is a great tool to boost your brand but it can be toxic, especially for a person like Emma Raducanu who has so many people following her and so many people who want to see her succeed and also a lot of people who don't," she opined.
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