Raducanu falls out of character
In a bizarre press conference before the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, a tense-looking Emma Raducanu taciturnly dismissed the assembled press and allowed herself to be "redeemed" after a few minutes by breaking off the press conference.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edit:
Apr 26, 2023, 07:47 am
The sporting development of Emma Raducanu since her sensational triumph at the US Open 2021 raises an almost endless number of questions even for tennis experts. Characterized by numerous changes of coach and chronic injuries, the assessment is often heard that the focus has shifted too much from the sporting orientation to the undoubtedly perfectly running marketing of the 20-year-old.
Impeccable public image
The young British woman is only ever known politely when dealing with the public. Sporting setbacks were always kindly smiled away with her charm. No appointment related to tennis seemed too much or too time-consuming for her. The global players of the economy stood in line to sign the exotically attractive player immediately after her famous feat in New York.
Sporting stagnation
From a sporting point of view, Raducanu has owed a lot since her big coup. Since then she has only won one semi-final. Nevertheless, it was still enough for a two-digit ranking and thus for direct qualification for the main draw in the major tournaments. In their view, a round of 16 from the previous year must be defended at the upcoming tournament in the Spanish capital, otherwise there is a risk of slipping out of the elite group of the top 100. For a start at the home Grand Slam in Wimbledon, this aspect should prevail due to an expected wildcard not yet play a role for the organizing AELTC, but their highly decorated sponsor partners, bound by possible contractual clauses, are likely to be anything but enthusiastic about this sporting development.
Almost 3-minute press showdown
Actually, the press representatives on the Media Day in the Caja Magica expected the usual bright and talkative Raducanu at the press conference. But when asked about her draw, where she could meet Iga Swiatek in the second round after her opening game against Viktoriya Tomova, she answered taciturnly: "It is what it is". When asked about her chronic wrist problems, she gave a grumpy, "We can do it." She only had 58 words to answer a total of 16 questions from the journalists. After almost three minutes, even the media officer of the WTA had had enough and ended the strange goings-on with a research "I think we'll leave it at that".
Uncertain sporting future
The pressure on Raducanu should not have been reduced by this appearance in front of the press representatives, who, despite the sporting stagnation, seemed to be mostly well-disposed towards her due to her refreshing nature. One can only hope that she manages to make positive headlines again in a sporty way, which she was able to deliver in 2021 with her enthusiastic performances in the Big Apple.