Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.
Ongoing British Tennis…
Comments
-
Draper is a leftie who is right handed. It would be interesting if he had a coach who have him change hands depending on which side of the court the ball goes.
Might be a game changer and undefendable.
0 -
If only he wasn't pretty damn good already!Gisappointed said:Draper is a leftie who is right handed. It would be interesting if he had a coach who have him change hands depending on which side of the court the ball goes.
Might be a game changer and undefendable.
Same with Nadal re playing left handed but being right handed otherwise. Although I recall reading it was a conscious decision (by his uncle?) to get him to play left handed. I read the other day Jack Draper picked up a tennis racquet with his left hand from the beginning0 -
Raducanu through to second round at Miami.3
-
such a shame she has Navarro next. Could have done with another match to get some confidence and rhythmhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.0 -
Katie Boulter lost the first set to Peyton Stearns. Billy Harris plays his first round match later today. Norrie & Fearnley will play tomorrow.0
-
All first round winners play seeds in the second round. Navarro is beatable if Raducanu back near her bestPrincessFiona said:
such a shame she has Navarro next. Could have done with another match to get some confidence and rhythmhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.0 -
yes, IF. Possible, but is she on the right trajectory so far this year? Light on matches and confidence?Holdkneebomb said:
All first round winners play seeds in the second round. Navarro is beatable if Raducanu back near her bestPrincessFiona said:
such a shame she has Navarro next. Could have done with another match to get some confidence and rhythmhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.0 -
Boulter beaten in straight sets in the first round 6-4 6-2.0
-
hoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.
Radacanu's just announced the end of the coaching trial with Vlado Platenik because the relationship "wasn't quite heading in the right direction". By all accounts he isn't the easiest coach to deal with but then Raducanu had previously worked with him when she was 17 so would have known what he was like anyway. Her list of coaches now include Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday and Platenik and she currently has in Miami an LTA coach and a close friend helping her but neither are the short or long team solution. The sooner she finds someone she trusts the better because this constant revolving door isn't good for her.0 -
Maybe it's her that's the problem.Addick Addict said:hoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.
Radacanu's just announced the end of the coaching trial with Vlado Platenik because the relationship "wasn't quite heading in the right direction". By all accounts he isn't the easiest coach to deal with but then Raducanu had previously worked with him when she was 17 so would have known what he was like anyway. Her list of coaches now include Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday and Platenik and she currently has in Miami an LTA coach and a close friend helping her but neither are the short or long team solution. The sooner she finds someone she trusts the better because this constant revolving door isn't good for her.
The fact that she changes her coach as often as she does suggests to me that she doesn't respond well to being told what to do.
I could be completely wrong of course.
But she needs to find a coach she can stick with long term if she's to have any success.4 - Sponsored links:
-
I've offered my coaching services to Emma.
My turn is on the 15th May.5 -
PrincessFiona said:
yes, IF. Possible, but is she on the right trajectory so far this year? Light on matches and confidence?Holdkneebomb said:
All first round winners play seeds in the second round. Navarro is beatable if Raducanu back near her bestPrincessFiona said:
such a shame she has Navarro next. Could have done with another match to get some confidence and rhythmhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.
I actually think that she needs to be playing more matches against the top 10 ranked players. That is how she is going to get better. The more of those she plays, the more chances are that she will improve as a player. From what I can see, she has only had 10 matches in her career against those in the top 10 and has won 2 (against players ranked 5 & 9) and didn't have to face anyone of that ranking in winning the US Open. Consistently facing and beating those will give her more confidence and remove any doubts that she belongs on the top table.
Interestingly and proof that beating those high ranking players can give her confidence, one of those two top ranked players she knows she can beat is Maria Sakkari. She beat Sakkari (ranked 17 at the time) in the US semi and has since done so twice more when Sakkari was ranked 9 and 29. So Radacanu's 3/3 against her and knows when she steps on the court to face her that Sakkari isn't one she needs to fear.
Radacanu's ranking of 60 means she is going to do so sooner rather than later but that isn't necessarily a bad thing simply because she has been losing to those ranked lower anyway. Winning is a habit but taking a set off someone like Navarro is a stepping stone to improving whereas consistently beating those ranked below just reinforces, in her mind, that she is where she is. That is where the role of that coach she trusts comes in - to plan and train towards beating the best players. Without that, she has no one to consistently turn to bar her father, Ion. And by all accounts, that is part of the problem and referred to previously by some of her coaches. Her own agent, Max Eisenbud, has said this about Ion:
"I think that the coaching situation is something that is hard for people to accept, and she has a father who likes to do things differently like some other fathers. Education is first in his world, and you see that by him, where she went to regular school, she never went to an academy, and you got to celebrate that. He has a different philosophy about how long coaches should be and all that kind of stuff."
"I say to myself and I say to them if the media is only ripping you on who your coaches are, and when you keep coaches, we're going to be in a pretty good situation. That's how they do it, and as the agent, do I necessarily agree with it? I don't. But it seems to work for her"
Whether that has been "working for her" is somewhat open to debate. What differentiates Radacanu from say her compatriot, Katie Boulter, is that US Open win though Boulter's record against the top 10 is a similar one - 3/16. Perhaps that secondary pool they are both swimming in is the correct one and if Radacanu wants to test if that is the case then she needs to do things differently, starting with forming a working relationship, on a long term basis, with that one coach.0 -
I think her natural level is a ranking of 40-75, journeyman(woman) on the tour who can occasionally go deep in a tournament0
-
She's still young at 22 and has six years on Boulter for example. But I fear if she does carry on as she has been doing so far as her backroom stability is concerned then she won't replicate that Open win unless, of course, all those stars align for her once again.MrOneLung said:I think her natural level is a ranking of 40-75, journeyman(woman) on the tour who can occasionally go deep in a tournament0 -
According to Andrew Castle, the issue is her father. He could be wrong, but knows his tennis. Platenik was only a trial and some of the previous ones were always only going to be temporary, notably Richardson who didn't want to go on tour, so was always only going to be temporary - not how the media spin it though.blackpool72 said:
Maybe it's her that's the problem.Addick Addict said:hoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.
Radacanu's just announced the end of the coaching trial with Vlado Platenik because the relationship "wasn't quite heading in the right direction". By all accounts he isn't the easiest coach to deal with but then Raducanu had previously worked with him when she was 17 so would have known what he was like anyway. Her list of coaches now include Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday and Platenik and she currently has in Miami an LTA coach and a close friend helping her but neither are the short or long team solution. The sooner she finds someone she trusts the better because this constant revolving door isn't good for her.
The fact that she changes her coach as often as she does suggests to me that she doesn't respond well to being told what to do.
I could be completely wrong of course.
But she needs to find a coach she can stick with long term if she's to have any success.
Maybe her previous experiences are making her ultra wary of getting it right, but she was with Cavaday 18 months this last time I think and that only ended due to his medical condition.
She has had a high turnover, but the press and her detractors make more of a meal out of it than how it actually has been0 -
agreed, maybe top 30 or even dipping in/out of the top 20 if she can get it altogether for a sustained period - probably too many ifsMrOneLung said:I think her natural level is a ranking of 40-75, journeyman(woman) on the tour who can occasionally go deep in a tournament
She'd have probably taken/anticipated that as an 18 year old school girl before Wimbledon and the US Open0 -
Agreed. And funnily enough I commented about her father too, before reading your comment.Addick Addict said:PrincessFiona said:
yes, IF. Possible, but is she on the right trajectory so far this year? Light on matches and confidence?Holdkneebomb said:
All first round winners play seeds in the second round. Navarro is beatable if Raducanu back near her bestPrincessFiona said:
such a shame she has Navarro next. Could have done with another match to get some confidence and rhythmhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.
I actually think that she needs to be playing more matches against the top 10 ranked players. That is how she is going to get better. The more of those she plays, the more chances are that she will improve as a player. From what I can see, she has only had 10 matches in her career against those in the top 10 and has won 2 (against players ranked 5 & 9) and didn't have to face anyone of that ranking in winning the US Open. Consistently facing and beating those will give her more confidence and remove any doubts that she belongs on the top table.
Interestingly and proof that beating those high ranking players can give her confidence, one of those two top ranked players she knows she can beat is Maria Sakkari. She beat Sakkari (ranked 17 at the time) in the US semi and has since done so twice more when Sakkari was ranked 9 and 29. So Radacanu's 3/3 against her and knows when she steps on the court to face her that Sakkari isn't one she needs to fear.
Radacanu's ranking of 60 means she is going to do so sooner rather than later but that isn't necessarily a bad thing simply because she has been losing to those ranked lower anyway. Winning is a habit but taking a set off someone like Navarro is a stepping stone to improving whereas consistently beating those ranked below just reinforces, in her mind, that she is where she is. That is where the role of that coach she trusts comes in - to plan and train towards beating the best players. Without that, she has no one to consistently turn to bar her father, Ion. And by all accounts, that is part of the problem and referred to previously by some of her coaches. Her own agent, Max Eisenbud, has said this about Ion:
"I think that the coaching situation is something that is hard for people to accept, and she has a father who likes to do things differently like some other fathers. Education is first in his world, and you see that by him, where she went to regular school, she never went to an academy, and you got to celebrate that. He has a different philosophy about how long coaches should be and all that kind of stuff."
"I say to myself and I say to them if the media is only ripping you on who your coaches are, and when you keep coaches, we're going to be in a pretty good situation. That's how they do it, and as the agent, do I necessarily agree with it? I don't. But it seems to work for her"
Whether that has been "working for her" is somewhat open to debate. What differentiates Radacanu from say her compatriot, Katie Boulter, is that US Open win though Boulter's record against the top 10 is a similar one - 3/16. Perhaps that secondary pool they are both swimming in is the correct one and if Radacanu wants to test if that is the case then she needs to do things differently, starting with forming a working relationship, on a long term basis, with that one coach.
I agree about playing the top players, but this year, she hasn't played many players below her, so she hasn't had a run of 'easier' matches to get some consistency before playing a higher ranked players. That is partly because being ranked 60 means you are in the draw for the big tournaments but are one of the lowest ranked.
Playing a much higher ranked player in the first round straight up each time is a tough call.0 -
It may or not end up looking prescient but I said Emma Raducanu might quit Tennis around 25 years old as she won't want to be a Journey woman tennis player.
I hope Emma gives it 100% for the next 3 years, (or much longer)stays fit and plays tournaments including for GB showing that she is a great competitor.
How she managed to win through qualifying and the tournament to win the USA slam in 2021 against Leylah Fernandez still seems unbelievable.
Emma is a talented tennis player but unfortunately there are so many others girls that are a higher standard from Russian Mirra Andreeva at 18 to Peyton Sterns at 23 who took out Katie Boulter in two straight sets yesterday and will fly up the ratings this year.
Raducanu has a Slam to her name that can never be taken away. You can have the best tennis coach in the world but if the opponent at the other side of the net has a better serve, forehand or backhand with a strong mentality then it's really difficult to overcome.
There are some knowledgeable tennis fans on this thread but I can't believe anyone would disagree that Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff and Rybakina are of a higher class and would beat Emma, nine times out of 10.
The latest mantra in sport and life is be the best version of yourself; excellent advice but it doesn't make an individual a champion.
I would love to be wrong and will continue to cheer her on in every match she plays.
1 -
In some respects Radacanu is also a late developer. She has said that her parents "were both from very academic families... communist countries so education was kind of their only option" and it is for that reason that she stayed at her school, Newstead Wood, 'til she completed her A Levels. Although she had help in the sense that the school was literally a matter of yards from the Bromley Tennis centre where she would train before and after school with a coach that the LTA moved into the area, she missed out on that growing experience of being in an academy and training with top quality young players on a daily basis and then play on the junior tour. It's a bit like an age group club player at cricket practising in the nets against club bowlers and then being expected to score runs in the middle against the best county bowlers.PrincessFiona said:
Agreed. And funnily enough I commented about her father too, before reading your comment.Addick Addict said:PrincessFiona said:
yes, IF. Possible, but is she on the right trajectory so far this year? Light on matches and confidence?Holdkneebomb said:
All first round winners play seeds in the second round. Navarro is beatable if Raducanu back near her bestPrincessFiona said:
such a shame she has Navarro next. Could have done with another match to get some confidence and rhythmhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.
I actually think that she needs to be playing more matches against the top 10 ranked players. That is how she is going to get better. The more of those she plays, the more chances are that she will improve as a player. From what I can see, she has only had 10 matches in her career against those in the top 10 and has won 2 (against players ranked 5 & 9) and didn't have to face anyone of that ranking in winning the US Open. Consistently facing and beating those will give her more confidence and remove any doubts that she belongs on the top table.
Interestingly and proof that beating those high ranking players can give her confidence, one of those two top ranked players she knows she can beat is Maria Sakkari. She beat Sakkari (ranked 17 at the time) in the US semi and has since done so twice more when Sakkari was ranked 9 and 29. So Radacanu's 3/3 against her and knows when she steps on the court to face her that Sakkari isn't one she needs to fear.
Radacanu's ranking of 60 means she is going to do so sooner rather than later but that isn't necessarily a bad thing simply because she has been losing to those ranked lower anyway. Winning is a habit but taking a set off someone like Navarro is a stepping stone to improving whereas consistently beating those ranked below just reinforces, in her mind, that she is where she is. That is where the role of that coach she trusts comes in - to plan and train towards beating the best players. Without that, she has no one to consistently turn to bar her father, Ion. And by all accounts, that is part of the problem and referred to previously by some of her coaches. Her own agent, Max Eisenbud, has said this about Ion:
"I think that the coaching situation is something that is hard for people to accept, and she has a father who likes to do things differently like some other fathers. Education is first in his world, and you see that by him, where she went to regular school, she never went to an academy, and you got to celebrate that. He has a different philosophy about how long coaches should be and all that kind of stuff."
"I say to myself and I say to them if the media is only ripping you on who your coaches are, and when you keep coaches, we're going to be in a pretty good situation. That's how they do it, and as the agent, do I necessarily agree with it? I don't. But it seems to work for her"
Whether that has been "working for her" is somewhat open to debate. What differentiates Radacanu from say her compatriot, Katie Boulter, is that US Open win though Boulter's record against the top 10 is a similar one - 3/16. Perhaps that secondary pool they are both swimming in is the correct one and if Radacanu wants to test if that is the case then she needs to do things differently, starting with forming a working relationship, on a long term basis, with that one coach.
I agree about playing the top players, but this year, she hasn't played many players below her, so she hasn't had a run of 'easier' matches to get some consistency before playing a higher ranked players. That is partly because being ranked 60 means you are in the draw for the big tournaments but are one of the lowest ranked.
Playing a much higher ranked player in the first round straight up each time is a tough call.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with parents wanting their child to have a good education as a back stop but it has probably meant that she hasn't progressed as quickly as she might had they opted to send her away. That is what Judy Murray did with Andy as a result of a match Andy had against Rafa Nadal when they were 15. Andy says“I spoke to Rafa when we were resting, and I asked him who he practises with, and he said ‘Carlos Moyá’, who had just been No 1 in the world... I was at home training with my brother, who is a good player, but not anything like the same level... That was the difference.
“My mum tells the story really well. I rang her up and I was saying that it’s not fair that he gets to train with this guy and I am at home.
“I said I wanted to go to Spain, and from there we started to look at some academies. And that was that. It was a turning point.”
Had Radacanu been at an academy it would have hardened her to some of the situations that she would later find herself in on court e.g. the Wimbledon break down. The US Open, as fantastic as it was, probably came too early in that development and what worked when everything, including the draw, went her way was never going to always do so without the fundamentals in place. It also raised the level of expectation from fans, friends, her family but, most of all, herself. Injuries really haven't helped but they really haven't been her only issues. Believing, when you walk onto that court, that you can beat your opponent is fundamental. Whoever they are because the direction of tennis matches do hinge on those "big" points that so heavily influence the outcome.
As I've said, it's certainly not too late for her. But she does need to find that coach and accept that it might mean the occasional bit of "tough love" because that person's job is to train you to the extent that nothing will faze you on court.
4 - Sponsored links:
-
Billy Harris beaten in three sets by wildcard entrant Eliot Spizzirri.0
-
Fearnley scheduled for a 3pm start today. Norrie around 4:15pm.1
-
Emma has plenty of options in her life outside of tennis - not sure if she is as obsessed with the game as some of her fellow competitors. She has a bright future ahead of her and it might not necessarily be in tennis....Addick Addict said:
In some respects Radacanu is also a late developer. She has said that her parents "were both from very academic families... communist countries so education was kind of their only option" and it is for that reason that she stayed at her school, Newstead Wood, 'til she completed her A Levels. Although she had help in the sense that the school was literally a matter of yards from the Bromley Tennis centre where she would train before and after school with a coach that the LTA moved into the area, she missed out on that growing experience of being in an academy and training with top quality young players on a daily basis and then play on the junior tour. It's a bit like an age group club player at cricket practising in the nets against club bowlers and then being expected to score runs in the middle against the best county bowlers.PrincessFiona said:
Agreed. And funnily enough I commented about her father too, before reading your comment.Addick Addict said:PrincessFiona said:
yes, IF. Possible, but is she on the right trajectory so far this year? Light on matches and confidence?Holdkneebomb said:
All first round winners play seeds in the second round. Navarro is beatable if Raducanu back near her bestPrincessFiona said:
such a shame she has Navarro next. Could have done with another match to get some confidence and rhythmhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.
I actually think that she needs to be playing more matches against the top 10 ranked players. That is how she is going to get better. The more of those she plays, the more chances are that she will improve as a player. From what I can see, she has only had 10 matches in her career against those in the top 10 and has won 2 (against players ranked 5 & 9) and didn't have to face anyone of that ranking in winning the US Open. Consistently facing and beating those will give her more confidence and remove any doubts that she belongs on the top table.
Interestingly and proof that beating those high ranking players can give her confidence, one of those two top ranked players she knows she can beat is Maria Sakkari. She beat Sakkari (ranked 17 at the time) in the US semi and has since done so twice more when Sakkari was ranked 9 and 29. So Radacanu's 3/3 against her and knows when she steps on the court to face her that Sakkari isn't one she needs to fear.
Radacanu's ranking of 60 means she is going to do so sooner rather than later but that isn't necessarily a bad thing simply because she has been losing to those ranked lower anyway. Winning is a habit but taking a set off someone like Navarro is a stepping stone to improving whereas consistently beating those ranked below just reinforces, in her mind, that she is where she is. That is where the role of that coach she trusts comes in - to plan and train towards beating the best players. Without that, she has no one to consistently turn to bar her father, Ion. And by all accounts, that is part of the problem and referred to previously by some of her coaches. Her own agent, Max Eisenbud, has said this about Ion:
"I think that the coaching situation is something that is hard for people to accept, and she has a father who likes to do things differently like some other fathers. Education is first in his world, and you see that by him, where she went to regular school, she never went to an academy, and you got to celebrate that. He has a different philosophy about how long coaches should be and all that kind of stuff."
"I say to myself and I say to them if the media is only ripping you on who your coaches are, and when you keep coaches, we're going to be in a pretty good situation. That's how they do it, and as the agent, do I necessarily agree with it? I don't. But it seems to work for her"
Whether that has been "working for her" is somewhat open to debate. What differentiates Radacanu from say her compatriot, Katie Boulter, is that US Open win though Boulter's record against the top 10 is a similar one - 3/16. Perhaps that secondary pool they are both swimming in is the correct one and if Radacanu wants to test if that is the case then she needs to do things differently, starting with forming a working relationship, on a long term basis, with that one coach.
I agree about playing the top players, but this year, she hasn't played many players below her, so she hasn't had a run of 'easier' matches to get some consistency before playing a higher ranked players. That is partly because being ranked 60 means you are in the draw for the big tournaments but are one of the lowest ranked.
Playing a much higher ranked player in the first round straight up each time is a tough call.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with parents wanting their child to have a good education as a back stop but it has probably meant that she hasn't progressed as quickly as she might had they opted to send her away. That is what Judy Murray did with Andy as a result of a match Andy had against Rafa Nadal when they were 15. Andy says“I spoke to Rafa when we were resting, and I asked him who he practises with, and he said ‘Carlos Moyá’, who had just been No 1 in the world... I was at home training with my brother, who is a good player, but not anything like the same level... That was the difference.
“My mum tells the story really well. I rang her up and I was saying that it’s not fair that he gets to train with this guy and I am at home.
“I said I wanted to go to Spain, and from there we started to look at some academies. And that was that. It was a turning point.”
Had Radacanu been at an academy it would have hardened her to some of the situations that she would later find herself in on court e.g. the Wimbledon break down. The US Open, as fantastic as it was, probably came too early in that development and what worked when everything, including the draw, went her way was never going to always do so without the fundamentals in place. It also raised the level of expectation from fans, friends, her family but, most of all, herself. Injuries really haven't helped but they really haven't been her only issues. Believing, when you walk onto that court, that you can beat your opponent is fundamental. Whoever they are because the direction of tennis matches do hinge on those "big" points that so heavily influence the outcome.
As I've said, it's certainly not too late for her. But she does need to find that coach and accept that it might mean the occasional bit of "tough love" because that person's job is to train you to the extent that nothing will faze you on court.
1 -
Fearnley will face Zverev if he wins and Norrie will play De Minaur. The draw has not been kind..Callumcafc said:Fearnley scheduled for a 3pm start today. Norrie around 4:15pm.2 -
Fearnley takes first set 7-6 against Bonzi. Evenly matched so far.1
-
indeedhoof_it_up_to_benty said:
Emma has plenty of options in her life outside of tennis - not sure if she is as obsessed with the game as some of her fellow competitors. She has a bright future ahead of her and it might not necessarily be in tennis....Addick Addict said:
In some respects Radacanu is also a late developer. She has said that her parents "were both from very academic families... communist countries so education was kind of their only option" and it is for that reason that she stayed at her school, Newstead Wood, 'til she completed her A Levels. Although she had help in the sense that the school was literally a matter of yards from the Bromley Tennis centre where she would train before and after school with a coach that the LTA moved into the area, she missed out on that growing experience of being in an academy and training with top quality young players on a daily basis and then play on the junior tour. It's a bit like an age group club player at cricket practising in the nets against club bowlers and then being expected to score runs in the middle against the best county bowlers.PrincessFiona said:
Agreed. And funnily enough I commented about her father too, before reading your comment.Addick Addict said:PrincessFiona said:
yes, IF. Possible, but is she on the right trajectory so far this year? Light on matches and confidence?Holdkneebomb said:
All first round winners play seeds in the second round. Navarro is beatable if Raducanu back near her bestPrincessFiona said:
such a shame she has Navarro next. Could have done with another match to get some confidence and rhythmhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Raducanu through to second round at Miami.
I actually think that she needs to be playing more matches against the top 10 ranked players. That is how she is going to get better. The more of those she plays, the more chances are that she will improve as a player. From what I can see, she has only had 10 matches in her career against those in the top 10 and has won 2 (against players ranked 5 & 9) and didn't have to face anyone of that ranking in winning the US Open. Consistently facing and beating those will give her more confidence and remove any doubts that she belongs on the top table.
Interestingly and proof that beating those high ranking players can give her confidence, one of those two top ranked players she knows she can beat is Maria Sakkari. She beat Sakkari (ranked 17 at the time) in the US semi and has since done so twice more when Sakkari was ranked 9 and 29. So Radacanu's 3/3 against her and knows when she steps on the court to face her that Sakkari isn't one she needs to fear.
Radacanu's ranking of 60 means she is going to do so sooner rather than later but that isn't necessarily a bad thing simply because she has been losing to those ranked lower anyway. Winning is a habit but taking a set off someone like Navarro is a stepping stone to improving whereas consistently beating those ranked below just reinforces, in her mind, that she is where she is. That is where the role of that coach she trusts comes in - to plan and train towards beating the best players. Without that, she has no one to consistently turn to bar her father, Ion. And by all accounts, that is part of the problem and referred to previously by some of her coaches. Her own agent, Max Eisenbud, has said this about Ion:
"I think that the coaching situation is something that is hard for people to accept, and she has a father who likes to do things differently like some other fathers. Education is first in his world, and you see that by him, where she went to regular school, she never went to an academy, and you got to celebrate that. He has a different philosophy about how long coaches should be and all that kind of stuff."
"I say to myself and I say to them if the media is only ripping you on who your coaches are, and when you keep coaches, we're going to be in a pretty good situation. That's how they do it, and as the agent, do I necessarily agree with it? I don't. But it seems to work for her"
Whether that has been "working for her" is somewhat open to debate. What differentiates Radacanu from say her compatriot, Katie Boulter, is that US Open win though Boulter's record against the top 10 is a similar one - 3/16. Perhaps that secondary pool they are both swimming in is the correct one and if Radacanu wants to test if that is the case then she needs to do things differently, starting with forming a working relationship, on a long term basis, with that one coach.
I agree about playing the top players, but this year, she hasn't played many players below her, so she hasn't had a run of 'easier' matches to get some consistency before playing a higher ranked players. That is partly because being ranked 60 means you are in the draw for the big tournaments but are one of the lowest ranked.
Playing a much higher ranked player in the first round straight up each time is a tough call.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with parents wanting their child to have a good education as a back stop but it has probably meant that she hasn't progressed as quickly as she might had they opted to send her away. That is what Judy Murray did with Andy as a result of a match Andy had against Rafa Nadal when they were 15. Andy says“I spoke to Rafa when we were resting, and I asked him who he practises with, and he said ‘Carlos Moyá’, who had just been No 1 in the world... I was at home training with my brother, who is a good player, but not anything like the same level... That was the difference.
“My mum tells the story really well. I rang her up and I was saying that it’s not fair that he gets to train with this guy and I am at home.
“I said I wanted to go to Spain, and from there we started to look at some academies. And that was that. It was a turning point.”
Had Radacanu been at an academy it would have hardened her to some of the situations that she would later find herself in on court e.g. the Wimbledon break down. The US Open, as fantastic as it was, probably came too early in that development and what worked when everything, including the draw, went her way was never going to always do so without the fundamentals in place. It also raised the level of expectation from fans, friends, her family but, most of all, herself. Injuries really haven't helped but they really haven't been her only issues. Believing, when you walk onto that court, that you can beat your opponent is fundamental. Whoever they are because the direction of tennis matches do hinge on those "big" points that so heavily influence the outcome.
As I've said, it's certainly not too late for her. But she does need to find that coach and accept that it might mean the occasional bit of "tough love" because that person's job is to train you to the extent that nothing will faze you on court.
0 -
Very tight nothing in it really, Fearnley did well to hold his nerve in that tie breakhoof_it_up_to_benty said:Fearnley takes first set 7-6 against Bonzi. Evenly matched so far.1 -
Feel like Emma might have a career beyond Tennis.
Highly intelligent, attractive multi-cultural woman who is comfortable in front of a camera. She'll be fine.3 -
Fearnley loses second set 6-2. Cramp a big factor...0
-
Fearnley through in three sets. Seemed to be on his way out after poor second set.3
