Is Raducanu's optimism justified or misplaced?

Britain’s tennis star Emma Raducanu expresses optimism about becoming ‘one of the best’ in tennis. The 22-year-old was once regarded as the next big thing when she won the US Open at the age of just 18 in 2021. The most impressive aspect of that triumph was the fact that she started the campaign through the qualification round and still managed to go all the way and secure the title after beating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3.

However, things have turned upside down from there on as Raducanu has struggled to produce positive results consistently, largely because of fitness concerns. The former world number 10 returned to the court earlier this year after a break of nearly 12 months because of an injury.

Her return, however, did not go as planned, as she finished the season without winning a single title. She ended up playing 31 matches in 2024, winning 18 and losing 13. In the recent past, news surfaced that Raducanu has hired the fitness coach of the former world number one Maria Sharapova, Yutuka Nakamura, to overcome fitness troubles.

The one-time Grand Slam winner has been recently quoted in a report where she expressed excitement about working with Nakamura. The Toronto-born star also expressed optimism that she has what it takes to become ‘one of the best athletes’ in tennis only if she manages to stay fit.

"Yutaka is going to be with me a lot next year,” she said. "We’re quite similar in the sense that we’re very focused with our work: we’re not talking or chit-chatting about other things. It’s nice to have someone who’s on the same sort of wavelength as you. I think he is going to help me just really explore how far I can go, like, athletically. 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."