Emma Raducanu lost the Queen’s Championship, but she has plenty of positives to take ahead of Wimbledon.
The Queen’s final was Raducanu’s first WTA Tour final since the 2021 US Open. She lost the Queen’s final to Croatia’s Donna Vekic in straight sets. Emma said, “Right now it obviously really stings, so I’m just going to try and let myself feel it today – but try and get over it pretty quick.”
Emma suffered a first-round exit at the French Open just three weeks ago. Given that she had been dealing with a viral illness, and the aftereffects, she had played only four matches in the three months. Raducanu still chose to play the French Open, saying that it would help her with experience. At Queen’s, she reached the finals without dropping a set.
Emma’s movement on the grass is natural compared to her peers, which should help her at Wimbledon. She boasts a certain confidence while playing on grass courts. She said, “I think I’m playing pretty freely, pretty aggressively, but finding the right balance, I’ve been returning well, serving pretty well. It’s important on grass.”
Emma has rehired Andrew Richardson until the end of the season, under whose tenure she won the US Open in 2021. Under him, across four tour-level tournaments, including the 2021 win, and this year’s Queen’s, she has won 14 out of her 17 matches. Richardson is an “old-school” coach who believes in building good habits and focuses on hitting plenty of balls. She says he has a fiery side which ignites the competitive side in her. Emma herself is someone who likes to be challenged by her coaches.
During the second set against Vekic, Richardson could be heard telling Raducanu to drive returns up to the middle of the court. The advice changed the tone of the game. Raducanu said, “It’s great to have him back. I think we have been working on this game style.
“The whole week I have been playing really, really good tennis and the brand of tennis that I really want to play, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily the old Emma. I think it’s the new Emma. You take all the lessons and experience, all the different ups and downs, and you take everything. You understand a lot more what’s going on and what works for you.”
According to her, she’s someone who plays better when surrounded by familiar people. There have always been questions about Emma’s resilience and toughness, this week proved that she has what it takes. She recovered in the second set against Vekic, something she admitted she hasn’t always done.
And it’s not to say that she had an “easy” path to the finals, she beat two Top-20 players, Romania’s Sorana Cirstea and American teenager Iva Jovic — and overcame an injury scare to win two matches on Saturday. Raducanu has the spirit to become an elite player, she said, “I managed to get myself back into the second set and I’m proud of how I fought; that’s not something that in the past years I have always done, so that’s a positive.”
The past few years have followed a pattern for Emma Raducanu: starts with an injury, there’s hope, a not so great clay season, and then thriving on home grass courts. This year is no different, Emma just has to get past this “line”. Since winning the US Open in 2021, she has reached the second week of a Grand Slam only once — at Wimbledon two years ago
This year’s Queen’s was one of her best seasons, since that 2021 win. She can get to these levels, the challenge for her is to maintain that form over a long period. Wimbledon starts in two weeks, and Raducanu has had the preparation and the momentum, she played five matches on grass courts at Queen’s, her only challenge is to maintain it.
Emma is unlikely to play the WTA event in Nottingham, starting on Monday. She looks ready for grass court season, “Going into Wimbledon you want as many matches on grass as possible. This week was great. I played five matches on grass. It has to be positive. You take things that work, take things that didn’t work, and apply it to when I play next.”
