Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge believes Emma Raducanu has done a great job handling the criticisms and setbacks thrown her way in recent months, despite results not going the way of the US Open champion.
After her fairytale run at the US Open last year where she became the first-ever qualifier to win a Grand Slam, Raducanu has struggled to put together a decent run as she failed to win back-to-back matches in her first five tournaments of the year.
However, the tide appears to have turned as she reached quarter-final at the Stuttgart Open and the round of 16 at the Madrid Open last week.
Woodbridge, who won 21 Grand Slam doubles titles, believes there have been several positives for the teenager in recent months and he is most impressed by her ability to deal with criticism.
“What has stood out though are some real positives in the way she’s handled herself by being thrust into such a huge limelight,” he told the official Australian Open website.
“Coming out and not being able to perform at that same level as winning a US Open, and still being able to cope with the disappointment of that, and the negativity from naysayers… I’ve been impressed about how she’s been able to go, okay, I am a work in progress, and I understand that what happened to me was brilliant, but I understand that I’m still emerging and everyone else has to understand that with me.
“It’s a really tough environment to be growing up in front of cameras, with everyone like us here having a discussion about her. I think she’s handled that as well as anybody that I’ve seen."
Raducanu only made her clay-court debut at the highest level in April and Woodbridge highlighted why the British No. 1 was able to play so well in Madrid. Additionally, the Australian feels she will do well at the French Open, which should give her a boost for the grass-court season and Wimbledon.
She had a good result in Madrid last week, (but) it’s got altitude, it’s quicker,” he said. “I think that’s the standout thing for me at the moment, is that the surface, speed and conditions are all relevant to her learning how to play well.
“It’s harder to hit through an opponent on clay, which may give her the opportunity to build a bit more confidence to be able to stay in a few more points, to be able to use what her good stuff is.
Roland Garros is probably going to be a good tournament for her. There was lots of focus on her and intensity in Australia (the first major after her US Open win). A little bit of that’s taken off her going into the French because results have shown we’ll be focusing on some other players. And it’s before Wimbledon, where that’s going to be very hard.
“So this is the one that she can go just a little bit under the radar and I think play more freely, and then potentially get some form to go over to the grass-court season with.”
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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