"In my day Emma Raducanu would have never won a slam" says Flavia Pennetta
WTAFriday, 22 October 2021 at 00:58
Flavia Pennetta is one of the best Italian tennis players of all time and the US Open champion believes that Raducanu would have had a much tougher go at a slam in her day.
Pennetta achieved the crowning moment of her career in 2015 when she defeated fellow Italian Roberta Vinci in the 2015 US Open final. The Italian has also had a very storied career outside of that major which is why she is on the International Hall of Fame Ballot for the 2021 class. In a recent interview after her Hall of Fame nomination, Pennetta was asked about the current trend in WTA tennis and she said:
"I don't like it. What is happening, this very strong discontinuity, in my opinion, is not good for tennis. In
my time it could never have happened that a young girl played from
qualifying, like Emma Raducanu in New York, to win a Grand Slam.
Top athletes made too much difference. There is something wrong.
Charisma is missing, so women's tennis is more difficult to sell."
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It's a very broad criticism of the current WTA where there is a lot of parity. Each event can be won by any player and there is no set in stone favourites that play finals regularly. The most recent WTA 1000 was won by Badosa, a player ranked outside the top 10. Before that we had Teichmann, a player ranked outside of the top 40 at that moment, play in the final of Cincinnati.
Some tennis fans enjoy the parity as it brings excitement in the tennis community which has lacked especially on the ATP side where a handful of players have dominated for more than a decade. Either way, Pennetta can't really influence the change in the WTA and the popularity of sport seems to be fine considering that the WTA final in Indian Wells pulled more viewers than the ATP one.
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2 Comments
Pennetta shouldn't talk. She was ranked 27th when she won the US Open. She was seeded to play Caroline Wozniacki in the 3rd round but Wozniacki was upset. Pennettas's record against Wozniacki was 1-7. Then Serena was upset in the semis which gift wrapped the finals for Pennetta. Pennetta got lucky!!!
Emma Raducanu beat everyone comprehensively who was put in front of her, including Leylah Fernandez. She did so without dropping a set. Pennetta puts down Raducanu's achievement like an old coot muttering "that wouldn't have happened in my day, things were so much more difficult then." Time to move on, was a high quality final, dig the new breed.
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- Well, we all surely appreciate this bit of nothing. Go feed your kids.
mandoist17-04-2025 - If it weren't for the original contract, Raducanu would have been dropped a year ago.mandoist15-04-2025
- Mark, think about who goes through 7 coaches in 2 years. I have no idea who you are -- but save yourself from this torture. DON'T DO IT !!!mandoist15-04-2025
- A smarter person would not even bother to acknowledge the bettors / losers.mandoist15-04-2025
- One more thing -- Stuttgart would not give Raducanu a Wildcard. That is more likely why she blew it off. She has said she refuses to do quali's.mandoist14-04-2025
- If you look back at her past two years, Emma has been seemingly tactical in keeping sponsorships. Doing just enough to cnvince most of them to hang in there a bit longer. That game is closing-in on her. You can't continue BS'ing your sponsors forever. One also has to wonder what kind of personality would do less, but "demand" more from a sponsor?mandoist14-04-2025
- Nice job from Alcaraz
AceOfBase13-04-2025 - WTA players might be slightly overrated by Americans. The men's tour seems solid, though. Taylor Fritz leads the pack — the rest are chasing.MrAndreeva12-04-2025
- Shame but not unexpected. USA now face an upward hill struggle.SakkariFan2312-04-2025
- ADF v De Minaur final incomingSakkariFan2312-04-2025
