Emma Raducanu's agent, Max Eisenbud, has come out and strongly defended his client amidst the Brit's recent struggles on the tennis court.
Raducanu made her return to the WTA tour in January this year after missing the final eight months of 2023 due to ankle and wrist injuries. The 21-year-old has a losing record this year at 3-4 and has at times struggled to play anywhere close to her best tennis.
The current state of Raducanu's career is somewhat of a concern as she appears to be far from the level she was at when she won the US Open as an 18-year-old in 2021. In six Grand Slam appearances since her triumph at Flushing Meadows, she has failed to advance from the second round.
She also went through five coaching changes over two years before finally settling on Nick Cavaday, a mentor from her youth career, as her new permanent coach, at the start of the year.
Raducanu's straight-sets defeat to Anhelina Kalinina in the opening round of the Qatar Open a fortnight ago was the last time she was in action. The manner of the loss caused Raducanu to admit that her current scheduling of tournaments and training was not right, and she was going to have to make significant changes moving forward to improve on the court.
The setback led to her not participating in the WTA 1000 event in Dubai as she chose to return home and work on her game.
The spotlight on Raducanu has been large ever since her US Open triumph, with expectations of her shooting up just two months after she first received mainstream attention as she made an impressive run to the fourth round of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
Eisenbud believes perspective is necessary when critiquing Raducanu's form due to how quickly she had to acclimatise to being a renowned tennis star.
He told the Served With Andy Roddick podcast: "The girl did everything backward, she skipped every step. She won the US Open, she went to the next tournament, she didn't even know where the player's lounge was, she didn't know where the practice courts were."
Raducanu's agent also believes that some of the criticism of the player is excessive and uncalled for. He said: "She is still figuring it out. I think that people should not be malicious."
Despite Raducanu's below-par form at the moment, Eisenbud is fully confident that the Brit can have a successful year and secure more major championships in the future. He stated: "She really is a hard worker and tennis is her priority. The way I see her work and how smart she is, I believe she'll win more (Grand) Slams."
Raducanu has displayed flashes of her best self during her performances in 2024 but fatigue and a lack of match sharpness have largely prevented her from putting together a run of victories. This was evident in her tough second-round Australian Open exit to Yafan Wang, which lasted nearly three hours.
Her aim this year will primarily be to keep on staying active on the court and remain healthy after spending more than half of last year on the sidelines.
From a performance aspect, it would be ideal for Raducanu if she was able to reach the latter stages of WTA events and also improve on her recent poor performances at Grand Slams. By doing this, it will put her back into the conversation again for the top players on the WTA Tour.
There is no official confirmation yet on where Raducanu's next appearance will be, but there is a strong chance it will be at the Indian Wells Open, which begins on 6th March. The tournament is the third WTA 1000 event of 2024 and will feature participation from the world's top female players.
