It's time for Emma Raducanu to go back to the drawing board and reset, re-calibrate and look towards a bright future; the 19-year-old has a coaching dilemma to solve first before climbing back up the WTA rankings
Wednesday 7 September 2022 17:42, UK
Emma Raducanu has seen her US Open title defence fall at the first hurdle, while a dramatic rankings slide will see her slip outside of the Top 80, so what's next for the British teenager?
Following her first-round exit to veteran Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, the British No 1 now has a clean slate to move forward in her career.
Raducanu will drop to below 80 in the rankings and there was a certain sense of relief that the moment is over and she can attempt to build more solid foundations for her tennis career.
The expectation will be a little lower, the target on her back a little smaller, and the way forward presenting possibilities rather than pitfalls.
"Obviously it would have been great to defend the title," said Raducanu following her US Open exit.
"But I want new experiences. In a way I've kind of done that, so I want another tournament. It doesn't really matter what it is. I think any player would be happy to win a tournament."
Raducanu has been without a permanent coach since splitting from Torben Beltz in April. She has been trialling Russian Dmitry Tursunov, and there have been some encouraging signs, but it's uncertain whether she will be making the arrangement long term.
Just as important if not more so is her off-court work, with Raducanu physically well behind her peers as a legacy of finishing her schooling.
Niggling injury and illness certainly has not helped her this year, and trying to avoid that in future will be a key priority.
"If I look at how much tennis I played this year, or training I've done, it's very, very minimal," she said.
"We actually counted the days. From Rome to a bit after Wimbledon, I only played tennis for 14 days in two months and a half or something. It was pretty wild.
"Six weeks of training, already I feel like I'm so much better as a player. I definitely feel like I am growing in confidence.
"I think the most important thing for me is just consistency of these weeks, of training, of competing. You lose a match, you're on the practice court two days later."
Tennis analyst Barry Cowan says playing from scratch could potentially help Raducanu as she begins her journey back towards the top of the women's game.
Having lost a total of 2,030 points as a result of her first-round loss to Cornet, Raducanu is projected to slide from world No 11 down to 83 - a drop of 72 positions and just 11 points ahead of fellow Brit Harriet Dart.
"Being low down in the rankings will give her the opportunity because she won't be seeded. I would expect she won't be on the main courts because of her rankings. She might have to go through qualifying and I think her progression can be a little bit more organic as opposed to being thrust in the limelight," Cowan told Sky Sports.
"I would not expect any knee-jerk reactions, so let's look at Raducanu's levels post US Open. If she had beaten Cornet, that would have been one of the best wins of the year, so let's not be critical about the fact that she lost.
"Raducanu's level is probably around top 50 and I think it's about getting back to working on her game. I think it's really important that she focuses on having an established team and not swapping and changing her coaches every two or three months."
"It seems like they get on well. He is sort of a quirky character, anyone who saw him play would realise that. He was a little bit off the wall but he's got a really good track record as a coach having worked successfully with Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit," said Cowan.
"For Emma, she needs to get out of the spotlight and just try and develop her game. Mentally, she's special and we know that. What she achieved a year ago was nothing short of remarkable. We might never, ever see it again. If we do see it again, it's not going to happen on a regular basis.
"She must try and get matches under her belt and build momentum. Realistically, she was always going to find it difficult to ever get close to what she did under the lights last year.
"Nothing will change my belief that if Raducanu can build her game then there are future Grand Slam victories for her. She just can't wait for it to happen.
"There are areas of her game that she clearly needs to improve and I'm sure she will certainly identify those key areas."
She is never going to be a player like a Serena Williams that will hit opponents off the court. She is going to have to rely on her great court-craft, her high tennis IQ, and that's where she's going to win matches along with how strong she is mentally.
Cowan explained: "The serve clearly can improve and I expect it will improve because the stronger she gets, the more it will improve.
"Often, the serve is the state of mind as well. The more relaxed you are, the more you play with a little bit more freedom. There was no fear last year.
"She is never going to be a player like a Serena Williams that will hit opponents off the court. She is going to have to rely on her great court-craft, her high tennis IQ, and that's where she's going to win matches along with how strong she is mentally."
Raducanu has previously spoken about adding variety to her game, which is something world No 1 Iga Swiatek possesses in spades.
But Cowan believes adding variety may detract from her game, saying: "I find it really interesting because I think that by her trying to add variety she's kind of forgotten where she is in terms of her best way of winning matches," Cowan said.
"Variety is important, but you don't want to lose your identity. I think she's gone away from her identity because she's tried to be a bit of an all-round player.
"Yes, you want to improve the slice, yes, you want to improve the serve, yes, you want to improve the volley and yes, you want to improve your transition game in come forward. Her opponents were unable to push off her off the baseline at the US Open last year.
"She needs to go back to plan A and it's going to be what's going to win her majors, while plan B or plan C is the variety, which is not the main way of winning matches.
"It's about learning from experience. She is someone who is still very, very inexperienced in terms of the amount of matches she has played.
"Over the next year, I expect her to focus on the right areas."
Raducanu has taken a wild card into the WTA event in Portoroz, Slovenia before competing in Korea ahead of a busy end to the year in preparation for the 2023 Australian Open.
September 5: Open delle Puglie 125
September 12: Chennai Open 250
September 12: Tiriac Foundation Trophy 125
September 12: Zavarovalnica Sava Portoroz 250
September 19: Korea Open 250
September 19: Pan Pacific Open Tennis 500
September 19: Budapest Open 125
September 26: Parma Ladies Open 250
September 26: Tallinn Open 250
October 3: Jasmin Open Tunisia 250
October 3: Ostrava Open 500
October 10: San Diego Open 500
October 10: Transylvania Open 250
October 17: Guadalajara Open Akron 1000
October 17: Open Capfinances Rouen Metropole 125
October 24: Abierto Tampico 125
October 31: Dow Tennis Classic 125
October 31: Puerto Vallarta Open 125
November 7: LP Open by IND 125
November 15: Argentina Open 125
November 21: Montevideo Open 125
December 5: Open P2i Angers Arena Loire 125
December 11: Open BLS de Limoges 125
Barry Cowan was speaking to Sky Sports' Raz Mirza. Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/tennis, our Twitter account @skysportstennis & Sky Sports - on the go! Available to download now on - iPhone & iPad and Android
