Andy Murray's ex-coach dismisses one-Slam wonder narrative about Emma Raducanu

Yesterday at 12:25 AM

Andy Murray's former coach Mark Petchey says he "genuinely believes" Emma Raducanu will win multiple Grand Slam titles as the current tennis commentator and analyst highlights she is "too good not to succeed" in the future and backs the former world No. 10 to be a very dangerous player next year. 

After constantly struggling with injuries and physical setbacks, the 22-year-old had surgeries on both wrists and her ankle a year and a half ago. For someone to have such big surgeries at a young age was all but ideal and there was absolutely uncertainty about how it would pan out.

But now, it is safe to say that it was the right move considering that Raducanu was much healthier this way and it positively impacted her performance - she reached the Nottingham semifinal, made the round-of-16 at Wimbledon and also had her first two wins over top-10 players. However, there were still some occasional niggles, like the one in late 2024. 

Petchey, who worked with the 2021 US Open champion for some time a couple of years ago, thinks she is trending in the right direction. 

“The harder you work, the easier it becomes when you play tennis matches. When you know you’ve put in the work the matches become ‘easier’ because your practice sessions should be arguably harder than the matches themselves. Emma is too good in my opinion not to succeed. She's too athletic. She's too motivated when she's in between the lines. I think sometimes there have been a few times when she hasn’t been as prepared as she would like to be," he told Betway. 

As mentioned above, the 22-year-old maybe didn't win any titles this year but she looked much better on the court compared to some previous years. Also, she finally beat some players ranked inside the top-10. 

So in Petchey's mind, if the British tennis player remains committed to hard work and getting better - and also stays healthy - there is absolutely no reason not to think that she will have an even better 2025 and possibly become one of the best in the game. 

“I have 100 percent confidence she will do the work in the off-season. There's nobody out there that's going to enjoy playing Emma when she's fully fit and fully motivated. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to sit here and say to you that she's going to be pushing a lot of the top 10 players consistently over the next twelve months," Petchey added. 

“But there has to be a commitment to week in week out tournaments. The dipping in and out doesn't help the physical side of things. I want her to have longevity in the sport. I don't want her out of the sport at 26 or 27. Her team should be looking at how they manage her from here on in for another fifteen years of playing this sport if that's what she wants to do. I think she's well placed to do that.”

After reaching the 2021 Wimbledon round-of-16 as an 18-year-old wildcard in her Slam debut, the Briton wrote tennis history two months later by becoming the first-ever qualifier to win a Major. She hasn't lifted any titles since.

But this past summer, Raducanu made the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2021 - she made the Wimbledon last-16 before suffering a surprise loss to Lulu Sun. 

It is not a secret that the 22-year-old dealt with some major criticism and scrutiny in the last few years. One of the more popular insults that came her way was some of her critics and doubters labeling her "a one Slam wonder." 

Petchey doesn't agree with that at all - and not only that - he is not ruling out the possibility of the former world No. 59 making a really deep run at next month's Australian Open.

“I’ll never limit her potential. I genuinely believe she'll win multiple majors before the end of her career. I think it's a stretch to say that she could win the Australian Open, but I also don't think it’s beyond the realms of possibility. All I know is that if she's been healthy and she's got enough matches under her belt heading into Australia and she gets a favorable draw she’ll have an opportunity to challenge for the title. Obviously, a more realistic goal right now would be reaching the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park," Petchey said.

Earlier this year, Raducanu confidently stated that she has no doubt that she will win Wimbledon one day.