Emma Raducanu needs 'breathing room and space' to grow ahead of 2023 season, says Billie Jean King
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Updated 09/11/2022 at 14:51 GMT
Emma Raducanu's victory at the 2021 US Open was one of the stories of the year, but the British No. 1 has not enjoyed much further success in her first full season on the WTA Tour. Raducanu is currently out with a wrist injury and is not playing at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with Great Britain. Billie Jean King says she hopes "everybody just backs up" and gives her time to grow.
'She hasn't found a coach that has lasted' - Wilander on Raducanu
Billie Jean King says Emma Raducanu needs to be given “breathing room” as she bids to compete for tournament wins in 2023.
British No. 1 Raducanu, who is not playing for Great Britain at this week’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals due to a wrist injury, won the US Open as a qualifier in 2021.
That shock victory has not been followed by further success as Raducanu has struggled with niggling injuries and has been unable to settle on a full-time coach, parting ways with four over the last 18 months.
She is now ranked at 75 in the world.
"Our job is to give her time and space,” said 18-time Grand Slam singles champion King at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow.
“Let Emma decide what is best for her, not have everyone else deciding for her. Glean the information that pertains to her. I hope everybody just backs up. It’s like she has no breathing room.
“Give her some time to breathe, some space. She’s really young. Give her time.”
Raducanu hit a career-high of No. 10 in the world earlier this year but lost a huge chunk of ranking points after her US Open title defence ended in the first round.
Raducanu has shrugged off the idea of being burdened by expectations on several occasions, but King added: “You can’t pay attention to what anyone says about you. And don’t take anything personally.
“But then you’ve got to find the right person to talk to. And that’s the hard part because everyone has an opinion. It’s important for her to find out what she wants in life. She needs to search her own soul."
King also recently suggested that Raducanu could benefit from working with a sports psychotherapist.
“Now I think that she needs to have space and time and talk to people she trusts,” she told Reuters.
“I would hope she has a psychotherapist, I think they’re very helpful in hearing yourself. I’ve been going forever. It really helped my life.”
Raducanu’s latest coach Dmitry Tursunov left Raducanu to work for Belinda Bencic.
Raducanu was last in action at the Ostrava Open in early October when she lost to fifth seed Daria Kasatkina in her opening match.
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