Henin on Raducanu's key to future success ahead of US Open title defence: "She needs to be focused on the game"
WTA
Justine Henin believes that Emma Raducanu needs to put her US Open win behind her and focus on tennis instead of exterior commitments in order to continue to have success.
Since winning the US Open, her success has been mixed with difficult results and injuries preventing her game from being repeated as well as constant coaching changes.
"I think it's time for her that the US Open is behind her," said Henin to Eurosport.
"If we come back a year ago, we couldn't expect that from her. She was playing the first tournaments on the tour and then she wins a Grand Slam the way she did. We all loved it – it [the final] was with Leylah [Fernandez]. It was fresh. They were playing great tennis.
"We need personalities also on the tour and I think these two really gave us a lot of emotions last year. I was really excited about what was happening and then what happened after - we could expect this in a certain way.
"I don't know her [Raducanu] personally. So the fact she changed coach, she changed a lot of things - everyone started to criticise this but I'm not into it really to judge this.
"The only thing I say is she needs to be focused on the game if she wants to keep a certain kind of balance in what's happening for her and after winning a Grand Slam of course so much attention, so many solicitations, agents and probably money and a lot of things.
"We can suppose that it's not easy to deal with at such a young age with no experience. But you can build, build, build because you are very good, very young and then you start winning Grand Slams early.
"What happened in the last few months with her was quite normal. I think she will be relieved also once this US Open will be behind her. How she's going to deal with it, we will see. We can suppose it's not going to be that easy. But I think this game is full of surprises."
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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