Emma Raducanu plea made after Wimbledon defeat — 'Leave her alone'
Emma Raducanu made it to the third round of Wimbledon earlier this month, losing to world Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets, and the Brit is now preparing for the US Open
British tennis star Dan Evans has urged people to 'leave Emma Raducanu alone' following her encouraging Wimbledon campaign.
The shock U.S. Open champion reached the third round at SW19.
Raducanu encountered a stern challenge at the All England Club earlier this month when she went head-to-head with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
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The 22 year old, who stunned the tennis world by claiming the U.S. Open in 2021 as a teenager, had already taken down the likes of former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova ahead of her third-round encounter. Raducanu fought courageously, falling in straight sets 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, and Evans has now made an appeal following this promising display with Flushing Meadows approaching.
"Emma should definitely take a lot from the Sabalenka match," Evans told Tennis365, when asked about the British No. 3's Wimbledon journey this year.
"It was great to see her out there fighting the way she did and I thought she was the better player for long periods of that match against Sabalenka, who is the world No. 1. I'm interested to see what comes next for Emma. She is already back on the court working hard, and I think the summer in America is going to be good for her.
"We always need to manage expectations a little around Emma, but let's leave her alone, let her enjoy playing tennis and she has a decent chance to do well heading into the U.S. Open."
New York served as the backdrop for Raducanu's triumph four years ago, where she overcame players like Belinda Bencic, Maria Sakkari and Leylah Fernandez to claim the US Open title, remaining undefeated in sets until the semifinals.
Following that victory, Raducanu has frequently switched coaches, terminating her partnership with Andrew Richardson merely two weeks after capturing the U.S. Open, a tournament she'll revisit in August despite failing to advance beyond the opening round since her championship.
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Her current coaching situation remains unclear. She has collaborated with Mark Petchey intermittently since the Miami Open, and although he guided her to her remarkable SW19 showing, their future partnership remains undetermined.
Evans shared additional thoughts on handling Raducanu while revealing his potential coaching aspirations, though he hasn't retired from playing yet.
"Coaching is something I would look at," Evans acknowledged. "It depends on what opportunity came up and the idea of working with players and see that improvement might be interesting. When you are working on the other side of the fence as a coach, you might argue it gives you even more satisfaction to see a player improving."
