Emma Raducanu’s all-or-nothing tennis career shows signs of stabilization

WIMBLEDON — With Emma Raducanu it often feels like it’s all about expectations.

Expectations of becoming a Grand Slam champion at 18, of qualifying for the US Open in 2021; expectations of being 21, ranked outside the top 100 in the world, with five Grand Slam wins since the start of 2022. The latest of those came on Monday at Wimbledon, when she defeated Mexican lucky loser Renata Zarazua in three sets, 7-6(0), 6-3.

The two don’t immediately align — until it’s time to look beyond the narrative that has followed Raducanu since her 2021 triumph, that of a player who has had the most all-or-nothing career possible. Since that utterly absurd achievement almost three years ago, she’s been incredibly unlucky with injuries — she missed eight months of action last year after two surgeries on her wrists and one ankle. Her current ranking of 135 is, as a result, misleadingly low, and she didn’t play at Wimbledon last year, but did attend as a guest.

If Raducanu’s career so far has been one of ups and downs, now she seems to need the peace of stability — and perhaps even more so, the opportunity to free herself from expectations in favor of progressing at a pace that is more sustainable than what has happened so far. A decent showing at Wimbledon 2024 would be bad for that in some ways — given the hysteria it would undoubtedly cause in her home country — but it would be invaluable in regaining the confidence and courage she showed at Flushing Meadows three years ago. Raducanu hasn’t made it past the second round of a Grand Slam since winning the U.S. Open, and if she could go far at Wimbledon this year, it would rightly be considered a major step forward. Now, it’s different, because it’s the forward part that matters more than the size of the step.

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So far, the tennis gods seem to be smiling down on Raducan at SW19. She may feel that this is the least they can do after such a terrible run of injuries.

She is already in the open bracket, and on Monday her scheduled first-round opponent, 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, withdrew due to illness. In came Zarazua, a 26-year-old Mexican who is 5 feet 3 inches (157 cm) tall and making her Wimbledon main-draw debut. It was also a challenge for Raducanu, who had said before the match that she was the underdog against the seeded Alexandrova — a status that suited her so well at the U.S. Open. The psychology changed completely when her original opponent withdrew, and Raducanu admitted afterward that she was nervous in the early exchanges against her new opponent.

The first set saw the ups and downs of the Briton, who had a break lead but quickly gave it back to find herself in a tie-break.

Here Raducanu raised her level and won 7-0.

The rest of the match was uneven for both players, with Raducanu ultimately employing a bit more variety to take advantage of her opponent’s sloppy forehand and weak serve. But Raducanu herself missed a few easy balls, and for someone with a decent pedigree on grass — her original breakthrough came at Wimbledon just before the 2021 US Open, when she reached the fourth round — she was decidedly unstable at the net. Overall, Raducanu won just eight of 24 points (33 percent) when she boldly pressed forward. She later spoke of emulating England’s 2-1 victory over Slovakia on Sunday night by “winning ugly” against Zarazua.

Winning is a key skill for any tennis player and Raducanu has been winning a lot of games recently. She was a semi-finalist in Nottingham a few weeks ago and then backed that up by beating Sloane Stephens and Jessica Pegula (a first top ten success) to reach the quarter-finals at Eastbourne last week.

Missing the French Open to train for those warm-up grass tournaments has also helped her mentally refresh. In Eastbourne last Monday, Raducanu spoke of rediscovering her love of the sport. “I feel good. Really good,” she replied to the first question she was asked. “It’s going really well,” she continued when asked about her current level.

“Right now I’m just pumped up. I love the sport. I love tennis. It just took over me. It really rekindled the light and the fire in me. I’m just so happy and I love it.”

After missing the French Open and turning down an Olympic bid, in addition to earlier accusations of not focusing enough on tennis, Raducanu clearly wanted to set the record straight. The next day, after beating Stephens, she tweeted on camera, “My own pace.”

“Even though I might be questioned or questioned for not playing in certain tournaments like the French Open or the Olympics, I think for me it’s just part of it,” Raducanu explained to reporters.

“(It’s about) doing things at my own pace and the way I want to do them, not the way everyone else thinks is best for me, because ultimately, me and a few close people around me only know what’s best for me and my game.”

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One of Raducanu’s biggest challenges was finding a pace that wasn’t too fast for her body. While she was recovering from injuries last year, her physiotherapist, Milly Mirkovic, counted every shot Raducanu took and kept a daily tally to make sure she wasn’t overdoing it. “Being patient and trying not to rush was the biggest lesson I learned,” Raducanu says of that period.

She finally seems fit and ready to at least win a few matches at a major tournament. If she can beat Belgian No. 33 Elise Mertens on Wednesday, she will be in uncharted territory since her US Open win: the third round of a Grand Slam. Mertens, the world No. 1 in doubles, will be a tough opponent because of her consistency, rarely producing spectacular results but rarely making unnecessary mistakes. Since reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2018, she has been a model of consistency: in 19 of the 24 Grand Slams she has played since then, Mertens has reached at least the third or fourth round, the only exceptions being two quarterfinals and a couple of early exits. She has never won a Grand Slam title like Raducanu, but she has had the kind of career at the top of her game that players dream of.

Stable, neither boom nor bust. And no stifling expectations.

Raducanu said after her victory Monday that she was determined to free herself from preconceived notions: “As I said in the first press conference, I would be over the moon to win the first round here. And I really am. I feel happy to be here, happy to be part of this buzz. I’m really just having fun.”

“I think every match that I win should be celebrated a lot. I think for me, because I know how hard it is to win matches, how hard it is to get them. I think now, yeah, having a few wins under my belt, I really appreciate every one of them because I know how hard it is to be on the other side.

“I don’t have any expectations in terms of results. I only have expectations for myself, to really put myself out there on the pitch and fight, not letting frustration get to me.”

(Top photo: John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)