Emma Raducanu brutally told she 'has done her career backwards'

Thursday, 12 February 2026 at 17:31

byJordan Reynolds

Emma Raducanu reached her second career final at last week's 2026 Transylvania Open, and John Isner and Steve Johnson are amazed by how long it took the Briton to reach that stage again.

Regardless of what Raducanu goes on to achieve in the coming years, she will undoubtedly always be best known for her extraordinary run to the 2021 US Open title as an 18-year-old qualifier without dropping a set.

It remains one of the astonishing and unexpected moments in tennis history. That sudden rise to stardom drastically increased expectations of Raducanu, which she has sometimes struggled to manage since.

The 23-year-old's failure to reach a final from 2022 to 2025 demonstrated her struggles. Raducanu consistently challenging for Grand Slams without some difficulties was never realistic, but not managing any final appearances felt like underachievement.

That spell without a final ended at the Transylvania Open. Although a very welcome moment, the 0-6, 2-6 hammering she received from home favorite Sorana Cirstea took a lot of the gloss off that achievement.

The Nothing Major Podcast is hosted by former American ATP players John Isner, Jack Sock, Sam Querrey, and Steve Johnson. On a recent episode, Raducanu's run in Cluj-Napoca and her career were discussed.

Isner remarked on how unusual it was for a player to start their career with such a memorable and extraordinary success before experiencing a period of over four years without progressing to another final.

"There are not many comms for Raducanu’s career thus far. Just a big US Open final out of nowhere coming through qualies, wins it and then doesn’t make a final again for four years."

Johnson's comments about Raducanu were even stronger. Although he complimented the British star on making the Transylvania Open, he can scarcely believe that it took a US Open champion so long to reach that stage again.

"2021 US Open and this are her only two finals on Tour, which is crazy. It is crazy. She kind of has done her career backwards. She came on to the scene, won the biggest tournament of her career first and has now had the growing pains after. It’s good to be in the final, but it’s crazy she has not been in another final since the 2021 US Open."

Isner and Johnson's words are understandable. However, Raducanu has an opportunity to make her runner-up finish at the Transylvania Open a turning point in her career by rising up the rankings.

Emma Raducanu recently split from another coach

Emma Raducanu is widely known for how often she hires and fires coaches. The Briton has worked with several people, but parting ways with Andrew Richardson just a few weeks after coaching her to the 2021 US Open title was particularly shocking.

Francisco Roig, Rafael Nadal's former team member and ex-coach of Matteo Berrettini, was the latest to part ways with Raducanu. Although a controversial move, her statement about it was very respectful of him.

Raducanu might argue that reaching the Transylvania Open in her first tournament without Roig vindicated the decision. However, the long-term consequences of the move will become apparent in the coming months.