"Some slouch doesn't win the US Open. She's a great player" - John McEnroe shows support for Raducanu
WTA
John McEnroe has never held back when giving his views on Emma Raducanu – or any player for that matter – and he followed that same approach as he summed up her second-round defeat at Wimbledon.
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Raducanu’s 6-3 6-3 loss against France’s Caroline Garcia burst the bubble of expectation around the US Open champion as she played in her home Grand Slam, but McEnroe suggested she needs to deal with that hype after he heroics in New York last year.
The 19-year-old has struggled to find her best form since winning the US Open as her life has changed beyond recognition, with seven-time major singles champion McEnroe telling the BBC that Raducanu has to embrace the pressure that has built up around her.
“Nerves play a part here, but she’s 19 years old. I mean, she should be you know, be able to deal with that very quickly,” declared McEnroe. “I suspect and I hope that some big things will happen in the future, but you got to start believing, you know, back up the hype.
“She needs to get in her comfort zone with whoever the people are around her. I don’t know who they are because she keeps switching teams as new coaches come in and out of the situation. That’s not a good thing.
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“But she’s got to figure it out and let’s not forget, she won the US Open. Some slouch doesn’t win the US Open. She’s a great player. You got to look at it like that.”
Raducanu is next expected to play in Washington, as she looks forward to her defense of the US Open, with anything less than a successful defense of that title certain to lead to a huge fall in her WTA Ranking.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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