"I really admire her for her conviction" - Jo Konta admits to not using Raducanu's divisive approach for fear of media backlash
WTA
Former British No.1 Johanna Konta has opened up about her career regrets, stating she would have like to use the same polarizing approach employed by compatriot Emma Raducanu.
The 33-year old was once seen as the future of British tennis, carrying the hopes of a nation at every Grand Slam. Despite reaching a career-high of World No.4, she never made it to a Grand Slam final. Konta's best results at a Major were reaching the final four at the Australian Open (2016), French Open (20190 and Wimbledon (2017). She would retire at the end of the 2021 season.
Konta supports Raducanu's polarizing approach to tennis
Ever since winning her only Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open, Raducanu has raised eyebrows for her questionable scheduling decisions and high coach turnover. The 21-year old has been somewhat ruthless with her approach to her coaches, as she went through five in the first 18 months of her career.
Furthermore, Raducanu opted to skip the French Open qualifying in order to focus on the grass season, a decision that paid off as she made the semifinal and quarterfinal in Nottingham and Eastbourne respectively. Additionally, she reached the last 16 at Wimbledon. Although Raducanu has received backlash for her decisions, Konta believes she could have benefitted from her compatriot's approach.
"I don’t think I’m in any position to judge, to be honest, and I don’t think anyone is,” said Konta. “I think this is where actually Emma is really good and very mature. For me, she has a thought, she has a direction in mind and she goes for it and she makes the decision and that’s a very mature approach for a young player.
"And the same thing with the coaching teams and stuff, I wish I did that more where I felt like a coaching situation wasn’t working, I didn’t wait for it to run its course because of how I thought, you know, the media would start speaking about it. So actually I really admire her for her conviction in how she goes about deciding things for her career."
"And the same thing with the coaching teams and stuff, I wish I did that more where I felt like a coaching situation wasn’t working, I didn’t wait for it to run its course because of how I thought, you know, the media would start speaking about it. So actually I really admire her for her conviction in how she goes about deciding things for her career."
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