Emma Raducanu’s hopes of challenging for Grand Slam titles appeared to be put into perspective as she lost 6-1, 6-0 against Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open, but Sky Sports Tennis lead commentator Jonathan Overend has backed the young Brit to silence her critics in the best manner possible.
Raducanu’s iconic win at the 2021 US Open propelled her to international superstardom, with the inevitable dip in fortunes since that memorable win in New York complicated by a host of injury issues.
Her critics have been quick to write her off and back-to-back first-round defeats in Singapore and Abu Dhabi have done little to back up hopes that she will challenge for major titles in the future, but Overend offers up a different view.
Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at a Sky Sports event in London, Overend gave us his verdict on what may be to come for Raducanu and it was much more upbeat than many of the predictions made about the 22-year-old over the last couple of years.
“I genuinely think this year is quite exciting for Raducanu,” Overend told us. “I still don’t see her playing with the sort of consistency that British tennis wants and hope for, as I feel she is going to be one of those players who can blow hot and cold across tournaments and swings.
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“What we do know is that when she is fit and on form, she has that Grand Slam-winning performance in her. She will turn up to Grand Slams in the future and get close to winning it, I have no doubt about that.
“We can look at her serve and say it needs to improve and we can say that she didn’t beat any top players when she won the 2021 US Open, but she still had to come through three matches in qualifying, seven matches in the main draw and she won them all without dropping a set.
“I don’t necessarily see her game as being worse than it was when she won the US Open, so she will always have a chance of clicking. We know it can come together for a period of time and if it all comes together, I honestly believe she can win another Grand Slam.
“I’m not going to say she’s won one and will never get close to winning another won. On current evidence, it looks like it’s going to be tough for her to get close to another Grand Slam, but I believe it can happen.
“I love the way she sits in press conferences, smiles about it all if it has gone wrong and appears to take it all in her stride. It shows she has a certain level of relaxation and comfort in what she is all about that some players just don’t have. A lot of players are so stressed and if I was her, I’d be so frustrated if I were in her shoes as her game is so consistent.
“I can’t wait for the day it all clicks because she will turn around to everyone and say: ‘There you go, I told you so. That’s why I’m still playing’.
“She is still young. When you look at the top of the WTA Tour, there are not too many young players and that suggests Raducanu will be in a position to put herself in contention to win big events for a long time.”
The defeat against Swiatek and especially the manner of it left the impression that Raducanu was a long way behind the elite players in the women’s game, but Overend believes she can get to that level if she maintains her fitness levels and builds up a match sharpness she had after a long run of matches during the summer of 2021 that concluded with her US Open win.
“I didn’t expect Swiatek to play that well,” added Overend .”Carrying over the impact of what happened to her last year losing the No 1 ranking and the ban. I thought there may be a hangover into this season.
“It was a surprise when she lost against Madison Keys as she had such a clean sweep of her opponents up to that point, so I don’t think it’s any great disgrace losing to play of that calibre playing that well.
“We have to remember that Raducanu is a player ranked outside the top 50, so losing to Swiatek is not a big surprise.
“The result was only a surprise because we know what Raducanu can do when she is at her best, but I really believe her moment will come.”
Raducanu has yet to confirm where her next tournament will be after her defeat against former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in Abu Dhabi, but she has shown at the start of 2025 that she is keen to play as many matches as possible as she looks to get back into the top 50 of the WTA Rankings.
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