Emma Raducanu has made a bold claim for the upcoming Australian Open, as she believes no one will want to draw her at the tournament.
Emma Raducanu Makes Bold Claim For Upcoming Australian Open
The 2021 US Open winner has evaluated her 2024 campaign, stating that she needs to give herself a pat on the back despite an inconsistent year.
Raducanu was plagued with injuries and only showed her high-level of quality at Wimbledon – exiting in the fourth round and putting her best grand slam performance since winning the US Open in 2021.
The British tennis star will be looking to put in a strong display throughout 2025 and begins this run in Melbourne at the Australian Open.
Interestingly, Raducanu will be going into the grand slam as an unseeded competitor, but does not believe this will play a factor in her chances of winning.
She said: “I know I’m a dangerous player. I know no-one wants to pull my name in the draw. Sometimes I need reminding: I’m top 60 and I’ve played less than 15 events, which is pretty unheard of. I have to pat myself on the back for that.”
This level of confidence could be down to several reasons, but one may be her recent addition to the coaching team – appointing Yutaka Nakamura.
Nakamura has worked with several star names in the world of Women’s tennis, as the fitness coach helped the likes of Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka.
Raducanu had Nakamura on trial in Autumn and has now decided to appoint the fitness coach on a full-time basis to help become one of the best athletes on the WTA Tour.
The 22-year-old said: “I think he is going to help me just really explore how far I can go, like athletically. I think it’s a big strength of mine that I have nowhere near fulfilled.
“I think I can become one of the best athletes out there in tennis and I’m just looking forward to seeing how much I can do.
“My natural athleticism is something that I have to use. I have to hone it, I have to polish it, it’s still pretty raw and I don’t think anywhere near fully developed so he’s going to help me explore that.”
Raducanu is a huge underdog going into the Australian Open and has been priced with little chance on UK betting sites.
