Emma Raducanu’s return to top-level tennis is now mapped out and we can only hope that the curious few who seem to delight in her failings will soon be silenced.
After missing most of 2023 due to injury, the 2021 US Open champion is preparing to make her return to action in Auckland next month and it has now been confirmed that she will be among the seeds for the qualifying draw at the Australian Open.
While it may appear to be an alarming backwards step for a Grand Slam champion from just two years ago to be playing in qualifying, this could be the perfect platform for Raducanu’s return.
The spotlight will never be taken off a player who has the potential to become one of the biggest stars in world sport, but she is starting all over again in a story that will be as compelling as her first coming in tennis
WHY THE HATE?
Every time we post a story about Raducanu on Tennis365’s social media platforms, it doesn’t take long for one of her seemingly devoted haters to send a negative response.
Some losers appear to have set up social media accounts purely to fire negativity in Raducanu’s direction and these individuals must not be fans of tennis.
Jealousy is a corrosive emotion and that must be at the root of the snipes that flow towards a young athlete who has the potential to be a gift to tennis over the next decade.
Her image was tarnished by her agent’s decision to snap up so many sponsorship deals after the US Open win two years ago, as that gave the impression that Raducanu was driven by cash rather than success on the court.
Yet those same social media critics would have been the first in the queue to take the cash that was on offer to Raducanu after her New York heroics and their persistent delight in her failure to shine on court since her breakthrough is as ugly as it is unnecessary.
Women’s tennis needs stars to shine and promote the sport and anyone who loves tennis should be relishing the prospect of a fit and revived Raducanu back on the big stage.