The result is not the problem. Defeat by former world No21 Anastasia Potapova, coming after a disrupted pre-season, should not ring any alarm bells for fans of Emma Raducanu.
The problem is what came afterwards.
‘I want to be playing a different way,’ said the British No1 after her 7-6, 6-2 defeat in the second round of the Australian Open. ‘The misalignment with how I’m playing right now and how I want to be playing is something I want to work on.
‘At the end of the day, I just want to hit the ball to the corners and hard. I feel like I’m doing all this variety, and it’s not doing what I want it to do.
‘I need to work on playing in a way more similar to how I was playing when I was younger. I always changed direction, took the ball early, and went for it. I think I do have the ability to do many things on the court, but I feel like as I’m learning all those skills, I need to stick to my guns a bit as well and work on that.
‘For me, it’s pretty simple.’
Emma Raducanu exited the Australian Open in straight sets but what should really worry her fans was her comments afterwards
The 23-year-old appeared to take a swipe at her coach Francis Roig (left), who has worked with several of the biggest names in the sport including Rafael Nadal
The British No1 might deny that was a body-serve aimed straight at the midriff of coach Francis Roig but how else are we supposed to take it?
The Spaniard was brought in last August, having worked with former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini and previously as one of Rafael Nadal’s coaches for 18 years. Another former client, Feliciano Lopez, described him as the best technical coach in the world.
Over that truncated winter training block, Roig worked on lengthening Raducanu’s backswing on the forehand, allowing for more spin. And yet as soon as she arrived in Melbourne, Raducanu said ‘on these very quick courts it (her tweaked swing path) doesn’t really work’.
It actually worked fine in the opening part of the match, as Raducanu had more control in the windy conditions. But once she failed to serve out the match – Potapova got a little lucky in that game – everything seemed to fall apart.
‘When I’m on the court,’ she continued. ‘I’m not trying to think about any particular technique, because even if I feel a particular way about a certain shot, it’s not the time to go into it. It’s like, regardless of how you feel, you just have to try and buckle down and fight with what you have, whether it’s good or bad.’
The words of a woman with no confidence in what she is doing on the court. It is maddening for those of us who only wish Raducanu well to hear and see her going into a new season not only questioning her gameplan but even something as fundamental as the way she swings her racket on the forehand.
With Raducanu’s history of hiring and firing coaches it would be no surprise – given those comments – if Roig does not last much longer. That would be a tremendous shame because he is a quality operator but what is most important is that Raducanu finds a method and sticks to it – this tinkering has to stop.
A little like Andy Murray, Raducanu is a great thinker about the game. She is always questioning her coaches, interrogating her technique and Roig is understood to appreciate this side of her – he wants a partnership rather than a drill-sergeant dynamic.
If her words in Melbourne are the harbinger of yet another coaching change, then we must start to wonder whether Raducanu will ever commit to an approach and stick to it
Roig has worked on lengthening Raducanu’s backswing on her forehand, but the Brit insists it ‘didn’t really work’ Down Under
But this can be a curse as much as a blessing. There is a lot to be said for clarity on court – just look at Potapova. She comes out and pretty much whacks the ball.
It was perhaps the sight of her opponent swinging so freely as the match ran away that prompted these comments from Raducanu.
‘I’m going to take a few days, get back home, and try to just re-evaluate my game a bit,’ added Raducanu. ‘Just watch it back and see where I can improve. I definitely want to feel better on certain shots before I start playing again. So for me, that’s more of a priority than getting straight back on to the match court.’
Twas ever thus: Raducanu’s default after a setback is to get back to the practice court, back to tinkering with her serve or forehand but this is simply not the reality of professional tennis. The calendar is relentless and if you step off the conveyor belt others will be carried ahead of you.
Every athlete is allowed to rant and perhaps that is all this is. Raducanu did not have a long enough pre-season – due to a foot issue – to fully iron out tweaks to her game and so was caught short Down Under. It happens.
But if these parting words from Melbourne are the harbinger of yet another coaching change, yet another shift in tactics, then we must start to wonder whether Raducanu will ever commit to an approach and stick to it; whether she will ever fulfil her undoubted potential.
