Thoughts on Emma Raducanu

[arturohernandez]

Huge pressure on Emma and the worst draw imaginable. I'm with Darren...long term she'll be fine.

I hope so. She seems to be making strides. But I just don't see any real weapons. She is good but nothing stands out for me. In an era of big bashing, it takes variety to stay at the top. Otherwise, someone will come in and bash harder with a fresher body.

Ash Barty had the formula and I suspect that there will be more emphasis on trying to add to the women's game via more variety.

I just don't see anyone who plays tactically like Ash and that is, IMHO, what it takes to do it today. Just bashing relies on the day to day whims of the game. It is too harsh on the body.

Anyone spot the next Ash, the next Graf, that is the future and the past. Emma will be very good but the top in women's game seems to be short-lived these days.

For those thinking it will Gauff, I still see a loopy forehand that is exploitable. She tries to make up for it with foot speed but you can only run and hide for so long. Eventually, the scouts will pass your weaknesses on to the top players and they will be ready.

[stotty]

Yup. Down to 80 in the world. Princess for a year to pauper.
https://www.si.com/tennis/2022/08/31...ankings%20drop.

But, Darren Cahill was quite positive about her and I always respect his input. See's her getting back to top 10, I believe he said.

Huge pressure on Emma and the worst draw imaginable. I'm with Darren...long term she'll be fine.

[jimlosaltos]

And she just lost all of them. That will hurt her ranking for sure.

Yup. Down to 80 in the world. Princess for a year to pauper.
https://www.si.com/tennis/2022/08/31...ankings%20drop.

But, Darren Cahill was quite positive about her and I always respect his input. See's her getting back to top 10, I believe he said.

[arturohernandez]

Thanks for article.

I just realized she's defending a ton of points (obvious, but I hadn't thought about it from her perspective), so if she goes out say in the first week her ranking will plummet and getting into tournaments will get a whole lot harder than she's used to.

And she just lost all of them. That will hurt her ranking for sure.

[jimlosaltos]

It could be psychosomatic. The mental stress must be enormous at this point after all.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/62695069

Thanks for article.

I just realized she's defending a ton of points (obvious, but I hadn't thought about it from her perspective), so if she goes out say in the first week her ranking will plummet and getting into tournaments will get a whole lot harder than she's used to.

[stotty]

It could be psychosomatic. The mental stress must be enormous at this point after all.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/62695069

[jimlosaltos]

Uh oh. Reportedly, Quit practice in tears with a wrist injury. Hope it's not serious.

[stroke]

Tursonov has a real sense of humor. I remember him being interviewed a few times when he was playing and he really came across as funny and likeable. I did not know he was coaching Emma.

[jeffreycounts]

Vesnina to number one in doubles
Sabalenka to number 2 in the world. She fires him and plummets.
Kontaveit to number w in the world. She fires him and plummets.
Raducanu .... we'll see.

Wow! Didn’t know that. He’s a real character as you mentioned but clearly he knows his stuff with those results. I bet his humorous side got her to relax, which is probably much needed for someone with that kind of pressure - both from her parents and the tennis world at large.

Looks like she’s going down in the round of 16, but she can build on a great week. Let’s see if Dmitry survives until the Open.

[jimlosaltos]

It’s a great run. 6-0 on Serena is a statement that’s for sure. But then she followed it with. 6-0 on Azarenka. That’s crazy. She had some magic at the US Open last year and if she goes into it with confidence it will be to watch her.

Just hope she doesn’t fire her coach in the meantime.

Is Dmitry Tursunov the "Forehand Whisperer" or what? Emma looked lost much of the summer, was actively avoiding her forehand recently.

Hires Tursunov and in a couple of weeks has her confidence back. What did he do in that amount of time. Tell her, "Be confident and hit out like last year?"

Emma "Oh, ok" Bagels Serena and Vika?

They're the odd couple, Tursonov the US-Russian surfer dude, she the multilingual A student.

Off to a great start as a team.

Dimitry coached

Vesnina to number one in doubles
Sabalenka to number 2 in the world. She fires him and plummets.
Kontaveit to number w in the world. She fires him and plummets.
Raducanu .... we'll see.

[jeffreycounts]

So Emma sweeps aside both Serena and Azarenka. Has she finally turned a corner? Let's hope so. She is so good for the game.

It’s a great run. 6-0 on Serena is a statement that’s for sure. But then she followed it with. 6-0 on Azarenka. That’s crazy. She had some magic at the US Open last year and if she goes into it with confidence it will be to watch her.

Just hope she doesn’t fire her coach in the meantime.

[arturohernandez]

So Emma sweeps aside both Serena and Azarenka. Has she finally turned a corner? Let's hope so. She is so good for the game.

I saw that too. She looks good in both matches. Maybe a little like Sampras who took a couple of years after his meteoric breakthrough to really excel.

Sometimes sudden success looks like the new normal when it was a big upward blip that takes a while to consolidate.

[stotty]

So Emma sweeps aside both Serena and Azarenka. Has she finally turned a corner? Let's hope so. She is so good for the game.

[arturohernandez]

I wonder how these four teens will rank in, say, 5 years?

Leylah Fernandez 19 yo
Coco Gauff 18 yo
Emma Raducanu 19 yo
Qinwen Zheng, 19 yo

I would expect Coco Gauff to be in the top 10 for sure. I still think that her forehand technique is her main obstacle. It looks like a WTA forehand that breakdown when she has little time, is on the run or it is out of her strike zone.

I think Emma may be out of tennis if she does not improve her ranking. She is a star outside of tennis and may just decide to stop working so hard when she can make just as much without all the fuss of tennis.

Leylah is a wild card for me. She is not big but has an extremely well tailored game for her body type. My guess is top 10 with a possible Roland Garros because of her movement and the time that clay gives her to be able to hit.

Qinwen Zheng is off my radar.

[stotty]

I wonder how these four teens will rank in, say, 5 years?

Leylah Fernandez 19 yo
Coco Gauff 18 yo
Emma Raducanu 19 yo
Qinwen Zheng, 19 yo

Let's keep an on them and see what 2027 brings, assuming the world hasn't gone up in smoke by then.