"Then we'll see how good she is": Billie Jean King forecasts Emma Raducanu's success hinges on injury-free run

Former world number one Billie Jean King believes that the real potential of Britain’s Emma Raducanu will only be visible once she is able to stay injury-free for a while. The 21-year-old was once regarded as the next big thing when she lifted the US Open in 2021 at the age of just 18.

The most impressive aspect of that triumph was the fact that Raducanu started the competition through the qualifying round and still managed to go all the way and secure the title after beating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3. However, not much has gone well for the former world number 10 since then, more so because of fitness concerns.

She returned to the court earlier this year after spending nearly 12 months on the sideline but has struggled to maintain her fitness. Her WTA season came to an end up as she was forced to withdraw from the quarterfinal of the Korea Open because of a foot injury. Former world number one King recently spoke to BBC about the potential of Raducanu. The 12-time Grand Slam winner was of the opinion that the one-time Grand Slam winner’s actual potential will only be known once she stays fit for some time.

"If she can stay healthy long enough, then we'll see how good she is," said King. "But if you keep getting injured, you never get that momentum going. If you've been injured - really injured - I always want to give a player at least a year and a half to recover. It takes a lot to come back from injury and you have got to be very patient."

Earlier, former British player Laura Robson, while speaking to Sky Sports back in October, also highlighted the importance of continue playing for a player like Raducanu. However, she went on to praise the performances of the Toronto-born as she climbed to Britain’s number two this year despite struggling with fitness issues.

“It's still such a learning experience and the fact that she's still figuring out what works for her, figuring out where she wants to play, and how many tournaments,” she said back in October. “I think it's a learning curve. When you look at her results, when she has played well and consistently - she can beat almost anyone. She's a great player with such an attacking game style but you just need to be able to do that day in, day out. When you think about the months that she's missed, to climb to the ranking she is now, it's actually impressive. In that respect, she's done really well. I think everyone, including her, would like to see it happen more often.”