Emma Raducanu 'Misunderstood' And 'Not Arrogant' According To Murray's Ex-Coach
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Emma Raducanu has been defended by her ex-coach, Mark Petchey, who thinks she receives unfair criticism. Petchey also believes her personality is misunderstood.
Raducanu went from being unknown to many to a worldwide sports star after winning the 2021 US Open as a qualifier. She also did not drop a set during her extraordinary run at Flushing Meadows.
The Briton was only 18 years old at the time, making her triumph in New York even more incredible. That meant some struggles and inconsistencies were inevitable for someone not used to competing regularly on the WTA Tour.
However, Raducanu has not reached another final since the US Open over three years ago, which is surprising. Someone of her talent would have expected to at least make a final at the WTA 250 level in the time since.
Physical issues have not helped Raducanu's cause. Her most severe injuries were wrist and ankle problems that led to her missing the final nine months of 2023. She did not help those issues by attempting to return from the problem too soon.
After a mixed return to the WTA Tour last year, Raducanu missed most of the Asian swing after spraining ligaments in her foot. The 22-year-old returned during Great Britain's run to the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Raducanu has attempted to rectify her injury struggles by hiring Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova's former fitness coach, Yutaka Nakamura. She hopes he can make her one of the best athletes in the women's game.
The former US Open champion has received harsh criticism from some media sources and online trolls during her struggles, but Petchey continues to believe in her. Recently, he outlined why he thinks she will win multiple Grand Slams.
Speaking to Betway, Petchey discussed how some have misunderstood Raducanu's actions and comments off the court as arrogance, saying that having self-belief is necessary for athletes and will help her in the future.
"There’s no doubt that she is misunderstood. If there was an Olympic event for cutting people down who have been successful, as a nation, we (Great Britain) would win the gold medal for it every four years."
"She’s had to deal with so much which must be incredibly hard for a youngster who is on the cover of every magazine and everybody’s favourite tennis player after the US Open. Obviously when things don’t go from strength to strength, attitudes of some people change."
"She’s already getting called a one-Slam wonder like she’s never going to win one again, and that must be incredibly difficult to deal with. People love to take pot shots at her but there’s a lot more to her than just being a tennis player."
"She’s not arrogant, but you’ve got to be confident. You’ve got to believe in yourself to exist and survive. Let alone thrive. Tennis is a ruthless hostile environment where you have at a Grand Slam, 127 other players who absolutely want to beat your brains out."
"They want the same dream that you’re fighting for, the same trophy and only one person is going to put a pair of hands on that silverware at the end of it. So, if you don’t back yourself, no one else is going to back you."
