Wimbledon 2023 — Raducanu’s story
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Emma Raducanu
Change of guards in the WTA Tennis started with the US Open going to Naomi Osaka in 2018. This also started the teenage domination of WTA tennis. The final of the US Open of 2018 with Carlos as umpire, witnessed a historic and player revolting final match. The present generation will remember this. Encounter had traumatic tennis incidents. The US Open title of 2018 went to Osaka. That was the turning point of William sister’s domination of two full decades.
Simone Halep at time was running close to replace Serena for the top position in WTA Tennis. She achieved it. Osaka’s successive wins put her to be the WTA player to watch. In the next few years, teenagers appeared in the US Open final. Bianca Andreescu, Emma Raducanu, Leylah Annie Fernandez and Sofia Kenin made US Open, a teenage parade.
Teenagers
After Osaka, Canadian Andreescu won the US Open title with Kenin reaching the final. Then in the following year, Raducanu won the title beating Fernandez in the final. Both in their teens, it was their time.
Raducanu global village kid
Raducanu won the US Open title. She turned out to be a player with unique pedigree, British by nationality, Romanian and Chinese parentage and Canada by birth. Her tennis is unique as her lineage. She evolved as a player in Canada, USA, and England, questionably in Bucharest. Reading her game, she was a ‘has-it-all kid’ with sky as her limit. For England, it was gift from heaven. A Brit girl dominating the British game after five decades. All went well until she decided to live her fame than train for tennis; injuries appeared. Tennis an individual game and is notorious to those who take to training indifferently.
NYSE and millions in endorsement
After Raducanu won the US Open title in 2021, her first visit in the following days was a publicised visit to the New York Stock Exchange or NYSE. That was a warning bell. Her parents are in finance world. She too wanted to pursue that direction was my impression of her. What about tennis?
In her home country England, heavens opened up for her. Money, cars, TV shows, elite company, a title MBE and all that a star could ask for. Money made as a tennis player was piling. Endorsements, appearances, and TV time poured in. Raducanu became a millionaire. Training for tennis, I believe must have gone low in priority. She started to lose matches and the body broke down, injuries appeared. In two years, she has changed seven coaches. Not difficult to guess where the problem is. For the 2023 Wimbledon, she could not play. Physically broken down with three surgeries, she was in a hospital. Of recent when she played, blisters on her hands did more damage to her than opponents. Any player knows how blisters appear on the hand — not enough time with the racquet on court.
Raducanu must have deviated from a training routine. Tennis punishes such players mercilessly. Change of coaches also means player not willing to train adequately for strength, stamina, suppleness, speed and stability — the five ‘S’ of sports. For Wimbledon of 2023, she was in a hospital bed with three surgeries. It was Roger Federer, who was with her highness Kate Middleton on the centre court cheering two Brits playing. Andy Murray won.
Sofia Kenin
Rain was in London and Wimbledon 2023 was not on schedule. Open courts missed two full days of tennis. Catching up means players had to play without much rest. The centre court cover was not 100% effective. Outside courts were under cover.
Many will remember the Russian born American Kenin. After a noticeable absence, now at 24, fired her first salvo beating Coco Gauff, seeded seven in Wimbledon 2023 to mark her return. She looked very impressive. In many ways, a tennis player story is prominence, absence, reappearance and survival with battered body. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Sererna Williams, and score of others walked their way to stardom doing this. All managed to make their money to live after tennis.
Men in Wimbledon – Frances Tiafoe
In Men, Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic were the favourites and were seeded one and two in the Wimbledon draw. The difference that separated players in the top end of the world ranking is often in the playing form of the week than an ever-existing gap. Alcaraz and Djokovic had to work hard. Djokovic has multiple Wimbledon titles. A veteran with many skills, he has done well for tennis.
Americans are ever-present in the top 10 of the world. It is the second country to embrace tennis after Great Britain. The first Davis Cup tie was between England and USA in 1900.
Frances Tiafoe, an African-American, has reached the Top 10 of the world. Nothing new, it has happened before. Arthur Ashe was the famous one. “I was complacent”, Tiafoe confessed to reach the Top 10. This should have happened earlier. He wanted to win Wimbledon and the US Open. Late bloomers.
–George Paldano, European and Asian competition player; Coach German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei and
Sri Lanka; Davis Cup, Federation Cup coach, coached ATP, WTA and ITF ranked players in Europe and Asia; WhatsApp +94775448880–