Emma Raducanu could win more Grand Slam titles if she pursued happiness over ranking points and stopped worrying about the critics.
So thinks former coach Mark Petchey as Britain’s number one prepares for a new challenge at Wimbledon.
A year ago, Petchey was in the midst of a short-term success that would lead the 23-year-old to the top, but his broadcasting commitments prevented it from becoming permanent.
Raducanu is now back with coach Andrew Richardson. Coach Andrew Richardson led her to the 2021 U.S. Open championship and catapulted her to superstardom, but the intervening five years have been a wild and challenging journey.
“I love Emma with all my heart,” Petchey, who first coached Raducanu as a teenager, told the Press Association.
“I’ll take a bullet for her. I think her situation is very unique. I don’t envy her life, where she’s judged every week by the outcome of something that happened five years ago. It was an amazing story and a total fairy tale.”
“She’s a hell of a tennis player, but it’s difficult because if she doesn’t win one more thing, it’s considered sub-optimal.
“And I think it was a very difficult process for her to grow up as an 18-year-old in the glare of the spotlight with everything that was coming. Everyone would have done the same thing, but they wouldn’t have done the same thing. That’s what I find really difficult, the cognitive dissonance of people.”
“There’s no doubt she can win another one. I’ve always believed that about her. If she can find a way to do ordinary things every day in an extraordinary way and not look for shortcuts to get back to where she was in 21, she’ll be fine.”
Mr. Petchey said he was pleased to reunite Mr. Raducanu and Mr. Richardson.
“There’s a lot of things that I like about it. We obviously had the conversation because my situation was never really going to change and she needed to find someone.
“And I think it’s perfect for her to go back to what she remembers as a great time in her life, and I think it’s going to be a very positive thing for her. I think they’re going to have a great relationship.”
“I also think it was almost a necessity for both of them to have this opportunity again, because there are a lot of people who say she shouldn’t have kicked Andrew out. Even if it doesn’t work out, at least you can cross that off the list.”
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Petchey has seen closer than anyone else the fishbowl in which Raducanu operates and the surveillance that accompanies her every move.
“I thought I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen,” he said.
“There’s a mystery about Emma that really fascinates people, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I get it, these people are borderline attached to everything.'”
Raducanu hasn’t made it past the fourth round at a Grand Slam since his victory in New York, and this season has been another stop-start as he was sidelined for two-and-a-half months with COVID-19, but reaching the final at the Queen’s Club tipped the balance in an optimistic direction.
“We all know things could have been handled differently, but not by her,” Petchey said.
“She was 18 years old. It’s not her fault, but there are obviously a lot of adults in this room who need to look at themselves.
“Fortunately for her, she won at a young age. She had a period of time to figure things out. She’s 23 now, but she still has a lot of strides to make in tennis if she wants to use it. There’s no question that this is her best surface, especially on grass.
“I think she needs to continue to live her life on her own terms and pursue her own career. Did she get a zero? Huh? Who cares? Don’t go to tournaments. Just do what makes you happy.”
“Give yourself a chance at a major, because I will support you no matter who you are.
“Don’t worry so much about rankings and more about whether you’re in the right position to play in the tournament every time you tee up, because you’re not the same as everyone else and don’t feel like that’s a negative.”
“If you decide to do it, you could have the longest career in history. If you keep doing what other people tell you to do and everyone else is doing, your career will probably be shorter. No matter how you do it, people will criticize you anyway.”
As for whether Petchey might play the role again in the future, the 55-year-old will leave the door open.
“If she needs me,” he added. “Probably the best thing is when her phone doesn’t ring, because that’s when you know she’s happy.”
