Tim Henman calls out 'borderline obsession' with Raducanu's career

Tim Henman defended Emma Raducanu against the 'borderline obsession' of her critics. The former British No. 1 discussed his compatriot's participation in the upcoming US Open after she skipped the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.

Raducanu had a long absence in 2023 due to injuries and returned this year, gradually achieving better results, although she has had a limited schedule with only a few tournaments. Despite skipping Roland Garros and four WTA 1000 events so far this season, the 21-year-old player has already reached World No. 70 and is in the top 50 of the WTA Race.

The 2021 US Open champion will return to Flushing Meadows without much preparation on hard courts, as she only played the DC Open, where she had a good run to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Paula Badosa.

However, in the following weeks, the former World No. 10 opted out of participating in Cincinnati and Toronto, presumably to avoid playing the qualifiers after failing to directly qualify for the main draw. "There is almost a borderline obsession about different elements of her game and where she is going wrong," Tim Henman recently commented to Tennis 365.

The Sky Sports Tennis expert defended Raducanu’s chosen schedule and praised the improving level she has shown throughout the year. "She hasn’t played in Canada and Cincinnati over the last few weeks… big deal! It’s two tournaments out of 52 weeks. She has played plenty of tournaments this year, and she is top 50 in the WTA Race for this year," Henman said. "She is continuing to build and get fitter, stronger, and faster. Her game is fantastic. She will be top 20 or top 30 before long, so we need to stop this level of scrutiny."

"We need to be patient, keep supporting her, and good things will happen," he stated. "She is a great player. She is going to be one of the leaders of British sport for years to come and not just British tennis."

According to the commentator, Raducanu still has a lot of room for improvement and remains a young player: "The challenges she has faced since the US Open win have been well-documented, but they are also expected for someone who is still so young and still finding their feet on the biggest stage."

"We have a player here who has shown what she can do, and we need to give her time to do it her way as it has proved to be successful in the past," Henman added. "I understand there is a lot of interest around Emma, but just calm down, give her time, and good things will happen."