“It’s a lesson to learn” – Raducanu ready to accept a change of approach after US Open exit
The 2021 champion now appears open to a change in her unorthodox approach after falling to a first-round loss to Sofia Kenin in the first round of the US Open
Emma Raducanu suffers first-round exit at 2024 US Open © Zuma / Panoramic
Emma Raducanu is a player who beats to the rhythm of her own drum, and admirably so.
Since her stunning US Open triumph in 2021, she has determinedly refused to follow conventional routes well-trodden by tennis peers past and present.
This has been most evident is two key areas. Firstly, Raducanu’s willingness to frequently change coaching staff – with the assertion that she can extract the most valuable piece of information from each new coach before moving on – is a departure from the tried and tested methods of her fellow players.
Admittedly, this is something that – for now at least – Raducanu has moved away from, having been with her current coach Nick Cavaday since the beginning of the season, a stint that dwarfs most spells she’s had with other coaches.
The second area in which the Briton parts with convention is her approach to scheduling. Raducanu has been repeatedly candid about this throughout the course of this season.
“I mix and match,” Raducanu explained prior to the start of this year’s US Open.
“I don’t think I will ever be the player who is playing close to 30 events a year. It is not my style – it never has been. When I was playing juniors even, I would just play a few tournaments, play the slams and go to school. I have always done it that way.”
This unorthodox policy first emerged as a very understandable response to her comeback from wrist and ankle surgery that she underwent last year. Throughout the season, this has been closely linked with her need to manage her workload in the wake of such invasive procedures.
But what began as a carefully managed return to full-time tennis has, it would appear, now evolved into a permanent part-time approach.
question marks over raducanu’s approach after first-round us open loss
Raducanu has asserted in the past that practise is the best form of honing her craft, rather than match play. It raised eyebrows at the time, but appeared to pay dividends across the grass-court season when the now-world No 71 surged back into the top 100 with excellent displays in Nottingham and, most importantly, Wimbledon.
Yet just as things appeared to be finally falling into place once again for Raducanu, a series of head-scratching decisions have ultimately left more questions for the young Briton than answers.
To her great credit, in the immediate aftermath of a bitterly disappointing first-round loss to Sofia Kenin in New York, a visibly emotional Raducanu was willing to concede that her approach may not have paid off this time around.
“I would like to play more matches,” was her honest admission, when speaking with the BBC.
“I wouldn’t probably still play every single tournament leading up, but I would probably play more than I did this time. It’s a lesson to learn for next year.”
Raducanu chose to decline the opportunity to play at the Paris Olympic Games this summer, opting instead to travel to the US in preparation for a full-tilt at the North American hard-court swing.
At least, that was the initial plan. Puzzlingly, after a promising run to the quarter-finals of the Citi Open in Washington at the start of the month, Raducanu then decided to fly back to the UK for a three-week training block rather than compete in Toronto, Cincinnati or either of the tournaments on offer in the week preceding the US Open.
While Raducanu explained that her decision to skip playing in Canada was due to a quick turnaround after Washington, there was little reasoning offered for returning to the UK rather than staying to compete in another tournament in North America.
Even a first-round loss in Cincinnati would have provided a much-needed three competitive matches, as two matches of qualification were required, as well as some valuable free ranking points.
Again, this is something that Raducanu has conceded to, indicating that she is now ready to accept a change in approach.
“I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more before coming into the US Open,” she said in her post-match press conference.
“I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good, you feel like everything’s automatic. So, yeah, I think I can learn from it and manage my schedule slightly differently, maybe.
“I would say it wasn’t [just] me. It was more of like a collective call and, yeah, that’s what happened. And can’t really change it.
“I’m just going to go back to the drawing board and train and analyse where I went wrong and try to improve for the rest of the season. Obviously, the slams are over for this year, but it’s not actually that long until Australia comes around again,” she concluded.
positives aplenty for raducanu despite disappointing north american swing
The North American hard-court swing did not go to plan for Raducanu. She would likely be the first to admit this.
But it is worth noting that it comes after a wonderful grass-court stretch for her, and that the project of 2024 was to stay fit and build back towards her best tennis. Both of these objectives are well on track.
Raducanu’s talent, work ethic and intelligence are never in doubt. What will be interesting to see is whether she is willing and able to be flexible enough in her approach to pivot to a change in schedule, while maintaining the need to preserve herself physically.
The Asian swing is right around the corner, an area of the world she knows well and feels comfortable in.
A promising spell during this stretch could close out her season on a high and give Raducanu’s whole season a positive complexion, rendering the North American chapter a mere blip along the way.
But all this is likely to be highly conditional on Raducanu’s ability and willingness to accept that, this time, the unorthodox approach may not be entirely conducive to finding her best tennis.
