Emma Raducanu created history with her remarkable win at the 2021 US Open, but Andrea Petkovic feels the achievement ‘came a little too quickly’ for the British tennis star.
It’s been a difficult few years for Raducanu in trying to find her feet on the WTA Tour since her incredible breakthrough in 2021.
She captured the hearts of the nation with her debut run to the second week of Wimbledon before going all the way to win the US Open a few months later.
That propelled Raducanu into the limelight and she became the next big superstar in women’s tennis.
However, she’s struggled to build on that success with injuries and fitness issues holding her back.
The 21-year-old opted to undergo surgery on both her wrists last year that ruled her out of action for nine months before she made her return in Australia.
But she suffered another injury setback after withdrawing from the Miami Open, which saw her drop out of the top 300 in the rankings.
Raducanu admitted on her return earlier this year that she was willing to be patient in trying to get back to her best.
And French Open semi-finalist Petkovic has no doubt Raducanu will eventually be ‘dangerous’ once again.
“First and foremost: her youth,” Petkovic told Eurosport.
“If I was as young as she is, I would still believe I could do anything.
“She has the advantage that she won’t be afraid of winning a tournament if she gets to the second week of a Grand Slam event or goes far in a competition again.
“Simply because she has already done it once at the US Open.
“That’s a huge mental advantage that can never be taken away from her again.
“This title just came a little too quickly. She won more matches in New York than she had previously played on the WTA Tour.
“That was a crazy situation that doesn’t happen very often. I’m sure she’ll find her feet again.
“Once Emma wins one or two Grand Slam matches, she’ll be really dangerous.”
Raducanu is set to return to action this week at the Billie Jean King Cup.