EMMA RADUCANU has been told by her new coach she has to restart her career – because she has been living her tennis life in “reverse”.
And guru Mark Petchey – a respected TV analyst – has defended her work ethic and claims doubters should stop living in the past as the sport has moved on since that fairytale US Open victory.
Raducanu, 22, switches to the grass now after a humbling 6-1 6-2 clay defeat to defending champion Iga Swiatek at the French Open.
What she famously achieved in New York four years ago, aged 18 and on her debut, has raised expectations and perhaps unfairly piled too much pressure on her shoulders.
Petchey, 54, wants people to realise that tennis BALLS are different these days – he claims they are “four times heavier than they were back in 2021”.
And having agreed to work with her since the Miami Open in March, and following a key training block in LA, he has told her camp if he is not the right man to take her forward, then he will step aside.
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Speaking on TNT Sports, Petchey said: “From my point of view, it’s tough on Emma at the moment.
“I feel as though everybody’s still living in 2021. The game has changed massively.
“The balls are four times heavier than they were back in 2021 and Emma isn’t one of the biggest hitters out there.
“If you can’t put the ball through the court particularly on a windy, heavy clay-court day against someone like Iga, you’re going to get into all sorts of trouble.
“Listen, on hard and grass that gap is a lot closer in my opinion right now compared to where Emma was in Australia against Iga.
“She knows what she’s going to have to do and it’s going to take a long time.
“My mantra to her since Miami has been: You know, you’re starting your career now.
“Everyone is going to judge you on what happened in 2021 but the reality for me is, I’d like to see you start building a normal career from here, where you get judged in a couple of years.
“Like Jack (Draper), Jacob Fearnley, Sonay (Kartal), all of these people. That’s where, unfortunately for Emma, she’s living her career in reverse.”
Essex-born Petchey – who should have more free time in the grass campaign to work on the practice courts – has made subtle changes so far, particular to her choice of racquet strings.
Raducanu, set to move up to 37th in the world rankings, has been besieged with injuries since that £1.8million US success.
One thing Petchey has been quick to defend is her work ethic, saying it is a “myth” to suggest she is scared of putting in the hours.
‘IT HAS BEEN BETTER’
Andy Murray’s former coach said: “Since Miami, when we improvised and I started helping Emma, it has been the one thing I’ve said to her – she has got to close the gap between the best players.
“She doesn’t need me to sit around 20 and 50 in the world – and if I’m not the best choice, then she needs to find the best choice.
“The one thing that everybody knows is that we worked on her service motion over in Los Angeles. It’s a longer motion. I think it has been better.
“But like any changes, it takes a while to bed in, particularly when you go out on one of the biggest courts in the world, it may not fire as well.
“You look at somebody like Daniil Medvedev, he hasn’t won a tournament for two years.
“The game has changed. These balls have changed. For somebody like Emma to move the ball, she has to find a way to be able to feel as though she can have an impact against players like Coco (Gauff), (Aryna) Sabalenka, Iga.
“That’s my job. If I’m not good enough at it, in finding whether I can do it, or somebody else can do it…
“When you’ve been through what she has been through in the last four years, there’s an ability to get behind the ball a bit quicker and therefore make something more happen with it. But lots of improvements.
“I’m a little tired of hearing people say that she doesn’t work hard.
“I spent ten months with her in 2020, and I’ve spent every day that I can with her since Miami, and not once has she not put in a full day shift.
“In terms of turning up every day and putting in a good shift, she’s done it every single time. So, I’d like to bury that myth where it belongs.”
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