Emma Raducanu played her first match in 2022 recently but it was not a pretty affair as the Brit won only one game in a loss to Rybakina.
Since winning the US Open in stunning fashion in September, Raducanu has won two matches and lost four. She has also hired a new coach, Torben Beltz, and had the start of her season disrupted after testing positive for Covid-19. Speaking on the Brit, British tennis legend Tim Henman said:
“She had a tough end to last year, she's had Covid, she had to quarantine for 10 days, then when she came out she wasn't really able to get started with training. Then she flies to Australia, the jet lag, and the practice and she's just trying to build from that. I think it's important that everyone manages expectation, it's a long year, she's got a lot of great opportunities, and form’s temporary, class is permanent."
For Henman, it's all about being consistent and patient while working hard. He believes things will fall into place as she plays more matches:
"She’s just trying to build, get more and more matches under her belt. We've seen what she's capable of, so just need to stay patient keep working hard and the good results will follow."
He finished up by saying:
“I get asked all the time how good she's going to be and she is a fantastic player, an enormous talent, a great athlete who's got an amazing mindset, but I always think that the time to judge these young players is when they played every tournament twice."