- Tennis legend Billie Jean King has praised celebrated tennis player Emma Raducanu
- King says Raducanu prioritizing her health is a great call
- The iconic American figure warmly characterized Raducanu as an exceptional individual
Tennis legend Billie Jean King has praised celebrated tennis player Emma Raducanu for taking it slow in her return to playing on tour.
King says Raducanu prioritizing her health is a great call and it shows how much she values her mental and physical wellbeing.
The iconic American figure warmly characterized Raducanu as an exceptional individual. She describes her as a great person and an intriguing human being.
King expressed her curiosity about Raducanu’s upcoming endeavors once she returns on tour.
Throughout the 2023 season, Raducanu has been significantly impacted by injuries, necessitating surgeries on both her wrists and ankle in May.
Billie Jean King with Emma Raducanu. Photo/Eurosport
She has participated in only ten matches across five tournaments in 2023 and holds a 5-5 record.
The 20-year-old British player sustained an ankle injury, leading to her retirement during the second round of her initial event in Auckland in January.
Following this, she had a second-round exit at the Australian Open against Coco Gauff and resumed her play nearly two months later at Indian Wells.
In her recent tournaments, Raducanu showed her best form of the season, advancing to the last 16 before being defeated by Iga Swiatek.
Subsequently, the 2021 US Open champion suffered an early exit in Miami, losing to Bianca Andreescu, and her most recent match ended in a defeat by Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart in April.
It’s now official that Raducanu is planning her comeback at the Macau Tennis Masters exhibition event in the first week of December.
This tournament is hosted by IMG, the agency responsible for managing Raducanu’s lucrative commercial agreements, and it boasts a star-studded entry list that includes Raducanu herself.
During an interview with Sky Sports, Billie Jean King discussed Raducanu’s return and voiced her support for the young athlete’s patient approach.
She says that her prayer is for Raducanu to regain her health and win more Grand Slams.
“We need Raducanu to be healthy, number one. She’s a great person. She’s interested in the world around her, she can speak more than one language – she can speak Chinese because her mother’s Chinese.
Emma Raducanu. Photo/Sky Sports
“She’s somebody who I think is interesting as a human being. I’m interested in her next chapter and I want her to be really healthy so she can play tennis, because I know she loves to play,” King, 79, said.
Raducanu recently revealed that her biggest dream is winning Wimbledon which she is working on ahead of her return in 2024.
“Wimbledon is the dream and always has been growing up. It’s still the ultimate dream to win Wimbledon,” she told BBC London.
She won the 2021 US Open Grand Slam as an unseeded player, and all eyes have been on her since then.
Unfortunately, she hasn’t won a single WTA event due to a series of injuries and a lack of a coach at some point.
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