Emma Raducanu is not ‘as fit as she should be’ according to Navratilova

Martina Navratilova opined that Emma Raducanu is not ‘as fit as she should be’ and urged the Brit to ‘take ownership of her career’ following her early elimination at the US Open against Sofia Kenin.

Raducanu has had a limited tournament schedule, skipping several events throughout the season. The 2021 US Open champion performed well at the DC Open, reaching the quarterfinals (losing to Badosa), but decided to skip the WTA 1000 Canadian Open and Cincinnati tournaments after not receiving wildcards and being forced to play the qualifying rounds.

The Brit No. 2 went a month without playing from her elimination in Washington until the first round against the world No. 54 Kenin, who secured the victory with a score of 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Raducanu has faced criticism for skipping tournaments right in the lead-up to the last Grand Slam of the year.

“I think Emma needs to take ownership of herself, of her brand, and of her tennis career most of all,” Martina Navratilova commented on Sky Sports. “She needs to be clear about who her team is, what her goal is, and not let herself off the hook.”

“Aryna Sabalenka, when she had problems with her serve and everybody was trying to help her, she took ownership of it and fixed it herself,” the 18-time Grand Slam champion said. “Emma needs to be in charge and she’s old enough to know what she should be doing – surround herself with good people and then trust in them, and give it time so that you can see the results.

“Technically she is great, but she needs more match play. I still don’t think she is as fit as she should be,” the former world No. 1 added. “I feel like if you don’t want to play the Olympics because it’s a different surface, you need to fix your body.

“Maybe it’s just not equipped for this kind of stress. She needs to think long-term… not tomorrow or next week.”

The next tournament on the calendar for the world No. 71 is the WTA 250 Seoul in the week of September 16, where she received a wildcard and shares the draw with players like Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Jessica Pegula.