"The spotlight's going to be pretty intense": Emma Raducanu has to be ready for scrutiny but Tim Henman urges patience

Tuesday, 19 May 2026 at 07:00

Emma Raducanu has been sidelined for the past two months with her most recent appearance coming at Indian Wells in March after she suffered a viral illness which she has yet to fully shift and has seen her withdraw from multiple tournaments.

But Tim Henman sees that while she will have intense scrutiny that patience should be levied her direction as she tackles clay which is more of a free hit before she then returns as almost the poster girl when she plays on British grass. ”I think Emma, and we to a certain extent, need to be patient. She hasn't played for quite some time, coming back from illness and injury is not easy," he said to TNT.

”She's on her least favourite surface [clay], so my expectations are pretty low for Strasbourg and Roland-Garros. Coming back onto the grass, that's a much more comfortable surface, but we appreciate the spotlight's going to be pretty intense." Raducanu plays in Strasbourg this week before she tackles Roland Garros.

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But while the spotlight won't be on her on clay, Henman said that should help her in reality as she aims to build the base again as she has not been able to train as hard and go to the gym as much to keep up her level of fitness.

”I feel like she's going to have no expectations and I don't feel like anyone supporting her or watching her should have any expectations as well.

”We know how good she can play, but it's going to be tough to do that in the first couple of matches back when you've been on and off, on and off, and, you know, struggling physically.

”She's not been able to put the amount of work in the gym or on the practice court in the last few months as she would have liked, so it's just about building that base again."

More physical resilience needed - Henman

But Henman also called for her to have more physical resilience before discussing a certain partnership with Andrew Richardson which he believes could bear fruit as they have known each other fo a long time. ”For me, it's not about her tennis. Her tennis has always been very, very good. She’s highly talented," Henman said.

"For me, it's a physical issue. She's got to have greater physical resilience. Get stronger, to hit the ball harder and do it more often. She's sort of been around 25 in the world, hasn't she? And it feels like she's scratching the surface.

"In my mind, it's not about her making technical changes or trying to adjust her game, it's about having that resilience to practice longer and hit the ball harder and play more matches and build the resilience."

”Andrew has known Emma for a long, long time since she was a junior and he's a good player himself," Henman added. "I think he's very understated, he's a calming influence, understands the game well, and what they achieved in New York was unprecedented."

Can Raducanu thrive on return?

Could be a shrewd move - Robson

While Laura Robson said that in reality it can only be helpful and was a move that in reality she had to try after she has cycled through coach after coach in recent years.

”She's got that relationship with her former, now current, coach, where they've got the same sort of goals for her game of what they want to be working on, which I think will be really helpful. It will be super clear every time she goes out on court.

”It could be a great move. You don't know until you try it. I think it's more that they have that confidence in each other, they have that prior relationship, and they have a lot of trust in each other as well, which at this stage is probably what she's looking for.

”He has the same opinions of how he thinks she should play, as she does of herself, and that's half the battle sometimes. I don't think there's any negatives to it at all. I just hope that it lasts a little bit longer than the first time around,” she said.

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