Emma Raducanu confirmed that she'd worked very hard on her service and collected the fruits of that labor during her week at the 2024 Nottingham Open.
The British player always had a pretty decent serve, all things considered, but decent doesn't cut it when attempting to become the best player on the WTA Tour. Winning a Grand Slam early in her career was a great achievement, but her intention is not to remain on one but possibly win a couple of more.
To get there, Raducanu has to improve, and she's been working on all parts of her game, but the serve was a special emphasis. Having a solid foundation made it easier, but the decision to focus on the serve more came from the realization that the top players all have good serves.
While speaking to the media in Nottingham, Raducanu mentioned Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka as examples of players who hold serve comfortably, and if she wants to challenge them, she had to improve.
"I’ve been working on every part of my game but obviously the serve is very important. It’s just repetition and I’m pleased to see the rewards in competition."
"Especially what I’ve realised, playing the top opponents like Iga or Aryna, you need a first serve because they’re very comfortable holding serve. If you don’t have one yourself then it’s very difficult."
The serve has been at the center of her good run in Nottingham, allowing her to hold her service games against some good hitters. Just in her semi-final match, Raducanu won a set against Katie Boulter, winning the tie-break 15-13.
That's mostly because her serve allows her to set up points well, staying in a long tie-break without worrying about points on her serve. It's something that will help her across the board on all surfaces, but especially on grass, where she can be dangerous anyway.
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