"There's some misguidance there" – Emma Raducanu not in the "right" company, suggests Kim Clijsters after US Open 2024 failure
Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters has raised concerns over the guidance Emma Raducanu might be receiving from the people around her. Clijsters' questions have come after the Brit suffered a first-round exit at US Open 2024.
Raducanu lost 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to Sofia Kenin to have her trophy drought extended beyond three years as she hasn't won anything on the WTA Tour since her historic triumph at the 2021 edition of the New York Major.
In an episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters discussed the Brit's performances in the recent past. Raducanu showed promise at Wimbledon by reaching the Round of 16 in a run that included a win over ninth seed Maria Sakkari.
She also made it to the quarterfinals of the Citi Open but didn't play any more events in the following three weeks leading to the US Open.
Roddick disapproved of the 2021 US Open champion's scheduling, suggesting it broke her momentum. He then turned to Clijsters for an opinion and she replied by stating that either Raducanu did not have the right people to guide her or there was something going on with the Brit mentally.
"There’s two things that I think could be the reason… it’s either maybe not having the right people around you who kind of guide you and say, ‘Okay, this is important to you like the scheduling, building enough weeks off in between, like training blocks to improve, to mentally switch off,'" Clijsters said.
"Or is it her [Emma Raducanu]? Is there other things going on mentally where she’s kind of just had it with media, pressure… whatever it is. It’s only those two things that could be the cause," she added.
The 41-year-old continued:
"I don’t know enough about her, I don’t know her personally, I don’t know her team, I really don’t know much about that whole situation. I’m sorry but if you have a team of coaches around you or whoever is in charge, there’s obviously some misguidance there."
Emma Raducanu has worked with six different coaches since April 2021
Emma Raducanu has worked with six different coaches since April 2021, when she began training under Nigel Sears. She parted ways with Sears after a couple of months and brought in Andrew Richardson.
Richardson accompanied the Brit to her sole Grand Slam glory, the 2021 US Open but the player decided to end the association two weeks later. She then sought the guidance of Torben Beltz.
In the 2022 mid-season, Raducanu turned to Dmitry Tursunov on a trial basis but that partnership also didn't last long as the 21-year-old started working with Sebastian Sachs, with whom she stayed until June 2023. In the first quarter of the 2024 season, the Brit announced Nick Cavaday as her head coach and the duo have been working together since then.
After her US Open exit, Raducanu will next compete at the Korea Open, which will start on September 16.