ANALYSIS: Qualifying snubs, puzzling decisions but at her own pace, Emma Raducanu reaches US Open anniversary at crossroads

Emma Raducanu is three years removed from winning the US Open, but the attention she commands from the media and the tennis community has not faltered. What does the near future hold for Raducanu? Let's explore.

As we approach the third anniversary of Emma Raducanu's monumental career success, it's a fitting time to reflect on her journey. The Brit, a relatively unknown teenager from the UK, had a surprise run at Wimbledon just two months before her historic win in New York. Her rise to fame captivated tennis fans worldwide, partly due to her being a young and talented British player, a rarity in recent years.

It's a country that loves the sport and has given it much but hasn't produced many superstars in a very long time. Raducanu's talent wasn't the only thing that captivated people. Part of that had to do with her charisma, which was evident pretty early on. How she carried herself on the court simply piqued your curiosity.

She was technically sound and looked like a professional, not someone who was just starting out. She simply oozed star potential, and that Wimbledon run was only a tease. Two months later, the Brit would touch down in New York for the US Open qualifiers and win three matches to find herself in the main draw. What followed in the next 14 days was one of the most surprising runs we've ever had in tennis.

It wasn't so much that we had a qualifier who was doing amazing stuff in a Grand Slam; it was also how she was doing it. She bested Stefanie Voegele 6-2 6-3 in the first round. Then she beat Shuai Zhang 6-2 6-4 in the second round. That was followed up with a win over Sorribes Tormo 6-0 6-1, after which she beat Shelby Rogers 6-2 6-1. Belinda Bencic was beaten 6-3 6-4, followed by a win over Maria Sakkari 6-1 6-4. Finally, she beat Leylah Fernandez in the final 6-4 6-3. And there it was: history made.

She was the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam event, and she did in tremendous style. Raducanu was dominant in all of her matches. She never looked in trouble and didn't drop a single set. It was incredible and a star was born right there in New York. What better place right?

We're less than 30 days away from the 3-year anniversary of that moment, and the star is still alive. Her overall level since then has never come close to that US Open one, but she had moments where she looked like that. When Raducanu truly feels her best and plays like she can, she's still crushing her opponents. There have been numerous instances where she made really good players look quite amateurish. In that sense, the US Open run wasn't a fluke. It was simply things going incredibly right for her at the perfect time.

Since her historic win, Raducanu has faced numerous challenges, including a triple surgery that kept her off the court for most of last year. Despite this setback, she returned to the sport earlier this year and, at times, showed glimpses of her past form. Her overall score of 18 wins and 11 losses may not be inspiring, but her resilience and determination to continue playing are truly commendable.

The stated goal from Raducanu wasn't so much to win trophies or achieve a certain ranking. Her goal was to remain healthy and play regularly. It made sense because it's the thing she hasn't been able to do since winning the US Open. She would play, and then she would pick up an injury. She's never been able to finish off a full year without getting injured, so her focus on that makes sense. Wins will obviously come along because she's too talented of a player not to win matches.

The last couple of events she played have looked pretty good. She was solid on the grass, albeit suffered a somewhat shocking loss to Lulu Sun at Wimbledon. The Olympics were a skip for her because she didn't want to return to clay, only to switch surfaces once more to hard courts. She opted to travel to Washington and play at the Citi Open, which proved a good decision.

Raducanu's performance at the Washington Open was a testament to her talent and determination. She demonstrated a solid level of play, defeating formidable opponents like Elise Mertens before a close match with Paula Badosa, where she saved a match point but ultimately lost. Her decision not to play in the subsequent events, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, surprised some people, but there are reasons for that.

Well, it's partly her fault, as well as the partly and timing. The reason why she wasn't able to play is that she didn't have the raking for it. Due to their position in the calendar, these events are generally packed with most of the top players attending. She wasn't able to enter either of them with her ranking but could have opted to play in the qualifiers for the Cincinnati Open.

She wasn't keen on that and went back home to London even though she wouldn't stay there long because the US Open was upon us. That decision puzzled a lot of people, but it only confirmed what Raducanu has spoken of several times in recent months. She simply does things her own way. Many questioned why she changed coaches so much in her career, but the answer is simple. She thought it was the right thing to do and that's why she did it.

This trip to London might puzzle some people, but she thought it was the right thing to do, so she did it. The sister of her coach, Naomi Cavaday, worked as part of the broadcasting team for the Canadian Open and briefly talked about Raducanu. Per Cavaday, Raducanu was happy with the Washington Open level, so she's not really too bothered by not playing any more matches ahead of the US Open. Practices should be fine.

Cavaday did add that Raducanu would have played in both of those events had she gotten a wild card entry, which makes sense. She was snubbed and didn't want to play the qualifiers in Cincinnati, either. We can say that, in some ways, she felt it was beneath her to do that, which is fair play. Had she played more this year and better, she might have had a better ranking to enter those events, but it's done now, so there's no point in dwelling on that. The main question is, what's next for Raducanu?

Well, it's the US Open, which many will follow closely. It's a court that suits her style of play, and with the way she's performed this year, lots of people will be curious to see how she handles that event. Can she make the second week or possibly go even further? Those are only some of the things people will be looking for.

As for the rest of the season, it's impossible to know. Raducanu likely won't play too many events, picking her spots carefully. Her main goal is to finish this year fully healthy, and that's what she's gonna aim for. She's not going to push herself too much because there aren't that many big events after the US Open anyway.

She'll probably go to Asia and play a couple of events there. Being back in China will be a cool experience for her, as her mother hails from that country, and she has lots of fans there. It will be interesting to see if Raducanu signs up to play at the Billie Jean King Cup finals.

Her heroics earlier this year allowed her country to book a spot at the final showdown, so it will be interesting to see whether she'll sign up to play there. If she does, then Britain could have a decent shot at winning it, with Katie Boulter also enjoying her career-best season.

Overall, Raducanu's schedule shouldn't be packed, but she's likely to play in China and possibly at the WTA Finals. As noted above, her goal will be to stay healthy and finish the season. With that said she won't be opposed to winnig many matches and possibly winning a trophy.

It's not a priority for her especially not after having to sit out much of last year. Raducanu needed to get stronger physically and learn how to manage a season to give herself a chance to become among the best players in the world, and she's been able to do that this year.

It's all part of her journey, which is what she's focusing on. She's got many years to do the things she wants to do and she's not in a rush. In that sense, she's showing more maturity then she did immeidayltey after winning the US Open.

Back then Raducanu was pushing herself to play more and more and it didn't work out. She broke down physically because she wants ready. This time around, she's approaching it the right way.