Emma Radecanu - flash in the pan?

[mids2019]

The US open win and millions in sponsorship....a future British sporting star....

However now does Emma have to seriously look at whether tennis glory is going to be within her reach again?

Is it good for mental health to continuously justify her performance to a varacious press? Was accepting huge sponsorship deals after the US open a mistake in hindsight?

Should Emma possibly looking at new generation of British tennis players maybe think applying to Oxford or a US elite uni would be the most fulfilling life option for her? End on a high with millions in the bank and the promise of a stimulating new career path?

She would have claimed 100 USD for reaching the 1st round of the US open and she reached the 4th round of Wimbledon this year netting over 200k (I think that's about right - I haven't checked). That is despite having major surgery on her wrists last year and barely doing any training. I think she's definitely got potential and why would you stop when you have that much earning capability at such a young age.

I do think she needs better PR/Management around her though.

That Andy Murray saga could have been handled so much better.

As long as she's happy she should carry on.

I think you should leave her to decide what’s best for her mental health and what a fulfilling life looks like. She seems quite good at making choices that she deems to be in her best interests even if they are unpopular. And she’s already won more grand slams than Tim Henman ever did. Do you think he should have given up at 21?

Why all the bitterness? She's had serious injuries which have set her back. I wish her every success. How does someone win the US Open by fluke? I'd like to know!

Now I thought she was about to take up a place at Cambridge after the US Open win, but I could be quite wrong.

She's still only 21, she's won a grand slam. She's clearly talented and hard working. With more match play after her injuries, she should continue to have success. Why knock a sportswoman? They have it tough as it is.

I never get these posts. If my one hit wonder was winning the US open I would be delighted.

How on earth do you know that she'll only ever have one victory?
Which, btw was an extraordinary achievement in front of a very partisan crowd.

I know. Sue Barker only ever won the French Open, and she's been feted. Why the difference?

She's lived in Bromley since she was two.

She earned 10 million last year in advertising revenue. I dare say she scrapes by on that. She's articulate, very attractive, speaks fluent Mandarin. I doubt she cares what anyone on here thinks.

Having watched her play lately, I wonder if she's been pushed into this career because it doesn't look to me that her heart is in it. She's likely been hothoused from a young age, and is paying the heavy price for the damage it did to her growing bones and joints. My cousin has raised 2 professional athletes and I'm appalled at how hard they were pushed. I feel very very sorry for her, tbh.

What a lot of mean comments about a young woman on this thread

I agree. What an unpleasant thread.

@SpanielPaws my view exactly. She does not look like she's enjoying it.
It's not her passion- it's someone else's.

I watched Eastbourne this year and one of the commentators made a good point that Emma’s career has been back to front (when compared to most tennis players). As in she won a slam very early in her career whereas most players graft for years to get to deep into competitions. They meant it in a nice way, as when you look at her stats on grass she hasn’t actually played that much and she’s still getting experience. She had a tricky opponent in one round and I think the commentators mentioned this was her learning how to get past such players. I did think her body language was negative when she went a set down, so she probably needs to work on that side of things too. Tennis is a tough sport, you need a good team and luck with injuries.

It almost seems like you want this to be a thread about bashing the young woman. She's very talented and puts in a lot of effort to better her sporting endeavours. A lot of things fell into place, enabling her US Open win. Things haven't gone so well since.
It feels like some people can't wait any longer for the next thread slating the Princess of Wales about some minute detail..

I think she said herself, she mismanaged her pre-US Open games - she didn’t play enough tennis.
If she wants to continue, she has said she needs to take control of her own career and that makes sense.
She has a lot of talent, but she is the only one who knows how much she wants to keep going.

I agree with you. She needs better PR and she should have played with Andy Murray and she should have gone to the Olympics. Being part of both would have made her have a bigger part in tennis history.

Anna Kournikova springs to mind. Beautiful young woman who made a lot of money on the back of her tennis career her looks were her fortune but couldn't make it to the very pinnacle.

Of course you can. Henman never won any majors and he is doing alright. Or look at Chesney Hawkes - dining out on his one hit forever!

Yes, we were saying that the other day. She went from A-levels to US Open success and then to injuries without any sustained time on the circuit.

Other players of her age will usually have had a couple of years on tour, gained experience and made mistakes out of the limelight.

She has done well this year to come back from surgery, improve fitness and get her ranking back into the top 100. The next step would be to have a good Asian hard court swing leading into Australia, and set her up for playing at a sustained level in 2025.

I'm not sure what's happening with coaching.

The scheduling for Andy was tricky though I agree the PR management was rubbish.

I think she was wise not to attempt the Olympics though. She's young enough that she's likely to have a couple of chances at them, and recovery from injury this year was more important. A lot of players have struggled with the rapid change of surfaces this summer.

You seem bitter.

I thought she won the US Open in a year when the competition was easier - key players not there or something? Not to say she's not very talented but maybe she was a little lucky and it gave an unrealistic impression of her true ability in the top echelons of tennis.That combined with injuries and coaching issues I'd guess she's lost a bit of verve and favour. The media like a fairytale story of success against the odds and it helps that she's attractive but the narrative has soured unfortunately. No shame if she does decide on another path in life.

Rick Parfitt Jnr. Touring on the songs and the name of his father. It was a band (Status Quo) not a dynasty