Emma Raducanu’s priorities singled out by tennis legend after coach agreement – EXCLUSIVE | Tennis | Sport

By her own admission, Emma Raducanu is still inexperienced on clay. The Brit is working on her relationship with the surface, however, reaching the fourth round at the recent Italian Open before taking a late wildcard into Strasbourg. And she’s made a big impression on 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert.

The retired tennis legend told Express Sport that Raducanu’s priorities were now “in the right place” and she’s backed the former US Open champion to become an even better player, especially with coach Mark Petchey in her corner.

Petchey worked with Raducanu briefly in 2020, and they reunited ahead of the Miami Open earlier this year. The British coach is working around his media commitments – he’s also a Tennis Channel commentator – but their partnership has proven successful, and he has already agreed to coach her during the grass season.

The 22-year-old got to the quarter-final in Florida, and she has since started to find her feet on the clay. Raducanu stunned world No. 17 Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 in Strasbourg on Monday, and Evert likes what she’s seeing from the British No. 2.

“I think she’s playing better with Mark Petchey. I think he’s very knowledgeable, how can he not be?” the American tennis icon told Express Sport.

“But I think I’ve seen some good matches from Emma. I think she seems to have the mental part of the game and the emotional part of the game. She seems to have that.

“She seems to be more settled, and she seems to really know what her goals are and she seems to know what she needs to work on and what her strengths and weaknesses are. She has a very good awareness of her game, and she knows what to do.”

That has not always been the case for Raducanu, who has had a stop-start career, dogged by injuries, coaching changes and poor runs of form. But Evert, who will be part of TNT Sports’ team for their French Open coverage, can see a spark has been reignited.

“She’s a young lady that has been injured so many times. I just feel so bad for these players that just keep getting out of the game. They start to play really well and then they get injured and it’s got to take its toll on you,” the former world No. 1 said.

“But I think she’s showing some good signs, showing some promise, and when I look at it, when I watch her matches, you can see it in her eyes that she’s 100 per cent committed this time around.

“She’s 100 per cent committed, and this is truly what she loves to do. You can see the love that she has for the game.

“And, look, it wasn’t easy after she won the US Open. Her whole life changed. Especially because she had never experienced fame before, not experienced fortune before, not experienced that much attention, and I think it just threw her off there for a while.”

Things are different for Raducanu now. The world No. 43 has admitted that she is trying not to be so intense about her tennis.

Although she would previously be selective with her schedule, she wanted to get back on the horse after losing in Rome last week and immediately entered Stuttgart. And Evert approves of her new approach.

“Her priorities are in the right place right now,” she added. “So she should just keep fighting and keep trying to improve her game, adding a little bit more power, coming into the net, just working a little bit harder, and I think she’s going to even be a better player than she is now.”

Watch every moment of Roland-Garros live and exclusive on TNT Sports and discovery+ from May 25th