"How about none of it for a while": Castle believes Raducanu should fly solo on return to WTA Tour

Emma Raducanu is currently away from tennis but she'll probably be back later this year and former player Andrew Castle has some thoughts on how it might go.

The former player sat down exclusively Express Sport to talk about Raducanu and how things might go when she comes back from injury. Castle began by reflecting on her physical state right now which is mostly unknown but is presumed to be trending in the right direction:

"Well, I'm no medical man, and I don't know Emma's physical situation, but what I know is that if you don't have continuity in your camp, then you're not going to achieve what you need to achieve or what you want to achieve. So, you know, the surgeries, obviously, you might as well get them out of the way at the beginning of a career rather than at the end. And I still see her very much at the beginning because she had no apprenticeship when she won the US Open in 2021, coming through qualifying, winning 10 matches, not losing a set."

When it comes to her future, Castle would like to see her travel alone after a coaching carroussel lately:

“And what I would like to see, which I think it's unlikely that we'll see this because there is a control, there's a family control there, that's no secret. I would love to see her travel alone, perhaps with somebody to look after her security, I think that's a smart thing. But in terms of coaching, physio, nutritionist, whatever, how about having none of it for a while? How about actually being out there and really standing on your own two feet? She's very bright, really lovely girl, go out there and kind of grow a bit and figure it out yourself. I mean, that is an option. I don't think it'll happen. She'll be back. She'll have success. She's not outside the top 100 in the world when she plays well and when she's fit. But you've got to think about the game.”