"They are tough on her" - Badosa on Emma Raducanu

Spain’s top-ranked tennis player has said Emma Raducanu needs time to find her footing on the Tour amid a surge of media focus surrounding the US Open champion.

Paula Badosa has pleaded for patience with the 19-year-old Brit who burst onto the scene last year with a meteoric rise. In New York Raducanu became the first qualifier in history to win the US Open after winning 10 matches in a row without dropping a set.

Asked about the rising star during a press conference ahead of the Eastbourne International, Badosa said Raducanu still has a lot to learn and must be given the time to do so:

“I mean her situation is very tough and she already did amazing things in this sport at a very young age. I think most of the people are tough on her but in the other side maybe I can understand because press is press. Still, it puts so much pressure on her and she is a teenager still with so much to learn.”

Badosa understands what she's going through well because she experienced something similar. With that perspective, she added:

“She needs time and I think she needs more experience on Tour and she will get it but I think people have to stop putting all this pressure on her and expectations. What she did is play very, very well at one Grand Slam and she won it, so you can see how good she is but you cannot expect her to win every match and tournament because that is impossible. She needs time and she will get it because she has a lot of talent.”