Rafael Nadal has now made his prediction for what the future holds for Emma Raducanu, after offering his brief review on her career thus far.
The Spaniard has remained relevant within the sport despite his retirement late last year, as one of the greatest to ever do it with a tennis racquet.
With appearances at matches and in the media, his face remains present, and fans are always delighted when he pops up.
And, to see him speak about a Brit will likely pique the interest of an entire nation, who are always interested to see how the rest of the world perceives talents like Emma Raducanu.
Hers has not been an easy career, but at last it feels like the 22-year-old might have found some stability to convert her great promise into tangible progress.
Rafael Nadal makes prediction about Emma Raducanu’s future
That seemingly is what Rafael Nadal is hoping for from Raducanu, who he admits has endured a tough past few years.
After all, despite winning the US Open in 2021, this rapid success has offered nothing but more hardships for the youngster, who was not ready for that level of fame and expectation.
The 38-year-old touched upon this when telling The Times: “I think she won very early on; when she won the US Open she was very young. There were a lot of expectations and pressure on her — it takes time to come to terms with.”
Alas, he thinks the worst is now behind her, predicting a ‘great future’ ahead for Raducanu.
Praise from someone of Nadal’s calibre should provide all the incentive needed for her to push on and help prove the legendary Spaniard correct.
Emma Raducanu has a great opportunity for a rankings push ahead of the US Open
With these comments fresh in her mind, the former British number one should have all the fuel needed to tackle the US hard-court swing of the tour with fresh gusto.
That is, despite Mark Petchey admitting he can no longer coach Raducanu due to alternative commitments after Wimbledon.
This is a blow given how successful their working relationship has been over the last few months, with Martina Navratilova telling Raducanu to solve her coaching issues before the US Open, or else face another early exit.
Fortunately, she goes into this portion of the year with few points to defend, particularly at the US Open, where she lost in the first round in 2024.
The hope is that she will return to New York buoyed by a solid month or two of preparation, ready to enjoy another deep run without the burden of great expectation.
And, should she impress in the events leading up to it, there’s every chance Raducanu could sneak into a seeded spot for the US Open too.
These next few months hold so much promise for the youngster, and hopefully she can solve her coaching crisis and heed Nadal’s advice to put together a strong run and continue her impressive year of progression.
