Emma Raducanu will need a full season on the WTA Tour to become a consistent player, according to former ATP player Thomas Enqvist.
The British player won the 2021 US Open, becoming the first qualifier to do so. When she entered the New York Slam, she was ranked World No. 150. Only a few weeks later, she left the United States wealthier by a couple of million dollars, with plenty of experience and great memories.
However, while she experienced what it feels like to be unbeaten for almost three weeks and go all the way at the Grand Slam, there are plenty of things that she has yet to experience in her very young career.
Despite winning a Grand Slam, experience is something that Raducanu can not buy, so she will have to experience all of her firsts on the WTA Tour, but to do that, she must compete regularly.
The Brit is currently sidelined after undergoing three surgeries, and she has even split with her former coach, Sebastian Sachs. When speaking to SkySports, Enqvist analyzed all aspects of her career, saying that it's very important for her to stay healthy.
"Emma is an unbelievable player who is super talented and has won a Grand Slam so we all know how good she can play and the potential she has."
"It's important for Emma to stay healthy because she's been very unfortunate with injuries and she needs to be able to stay as healthy as possible so she can play a full season and work on the things she needs to work on."
Tennis is a sport of consistency, and that is important both on and off the court. Without competing regularly, it's impossible to achieve consistency, and that's why, as the former World No. 4 explained, the main goal for Raducanu must be staying healthy, as she has yet to complete a full season on the WTA Tour.
"I think stability is very important for any player because you have to make a solid developing plan and like all players, there will be ups and downs"
"It's typical even if you have an unbelievable tournament like she had winning the US Open, it shows the potential she has, but like any young player you can sometimes struggle with the consistency and you still have lots of things to improve on, but that's normal."
As a former player himself who had to overcome an injury or two, Enqvist knows how difficult it is for an athlete to get injured and then try to pick up where they left off. That's why he tried to emphasize the importance of staying healthy.
"I do believe it's difficult for her to do that when she has missed a lot of tournaments. She gets injured and then has to focus on her rehab. Hopefully she'll be back 100 per cent healthy soon and then it's important for her to stay healthy because she needs a full season on tour."
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