Emma Raducanu is struggling big time at the moment. Although she has a long way to go in her career, Raducanu hasn’t been able to replicate the form she showed at the 2021 US Open, where she won the tournament as a qualifier. Although injuries have played their part, Raducanu has lost her golden touch and hasn’t been able to get back to her best after coming back from injuries. Recently, she bowed out of the Wimbledon Championships in the third round, much to the disappointment of the local fans. Amid this, the British star received stern advice from Martina Navratilova.
With an inconsistent run of form this year, Navratilova feels that Raducanu should appoint a permanent coach ahead of the US Open swing. The former US Open champion had appointed Mark Petchey as her part-time coach earlier this year, during which she had some promising results. However, neither Raducanu nor Petchey has committed to entering a full-time partnership, meaning that she is without a permanent coach. Amid this, Navratilova had a message for Raducanu.
During an interview with Sky Sports, Navratilova said, “Commit to a year. If you like the person, if you know them and what they can bring to your game, then you need to really buy in and stick with it and make sure you’re doing your part as far as training, fitness, eating all of that. She’s got the talent, and she did play better tennis against Sabalenka. She’s going in the right direction now.”
Image Credits: Emma Raducanu/Instagram
Further, she went on to add, “She needs to stick with somebody longer because when you work with somebody, it takes a while for them to incorporate into their game and then get the results. When you start a new training regime, you don’t immediately go faster or get stronger. I just think she needs to really take charge of her life, make sure that she’s the one that’s making all the decisions for herself, and then stick with somebody.”
Meanwhile, Raducanu’s current coach, Petchey, wasn’t happy with the criticism that Raducanu was getting after her Wimbledon exit. As a result, he took to social media and slammed the haters with a strong message.
Emma Raducanu’s coach has a perfect answer to her critics
Although Raducanu exited Wimbledon in the third round, she gave a good account of herself in the loss against Aryna Sabalenka. She lost a tight first set in the tiebreaker, which could’ve gone anyone’s way. Thus, Petchey felt that the criticism of Raducanu wasn’t fair and called out the haters with a perfect jab.
Taking to his official X handle, Petchey wrote, “If people spent as much time investing in making their own lives better as they do judging others, they wouldn’t have time to hate because they would be so happy living the life that currently makes them envious enough to waste their lives passing judgement.”
This was a perfect response to the people who had criticized Raducanu’s early exit from the tournament. Meanwhile, Raducanu would hope that she finds her magic touch back again in her favorite part of the season. She will next play at the Citi DC Open, which takes place later this month.
The post Martina Navratilova Fires Brutally Honest Advice to Emma Raducanu: “Play Better Tennis Against Sabalenka” appeared first on EssentiallySports.