{"id":476207,"date":"2025-12-28T02:49:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T02:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/476207\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T02:49:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T02:49:24","slug":"emma-raducanu-risks-backlash-after-making-controversial-admission-as-australian-open-creeps-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/476207\/","title":{"rendered":"Emma Raducanu risks backlash after making controversial admission as Australian Open creeps closer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emma Raducanu risks reigniting criticism from tennis pundits after revealing her intention to compete in fewer tournaments during the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old British star, who captured the 2021 US Open title, has previously faced scrutiny for her limited playing schedule, with former world No 1 Andy Roddick among those questioning her approach ahead of last year’s US Open. <\/p>\n

Despite this backdrop of disapproval, Raducanu indicated in a BBC Today Programme interview that she plans to reduce her competitive commitments further next year.<\/p>\n

The decision comes as the 23-year-old expresses contentment with her current direction, though it remains unclear whether the strategy originates from her or her coaching team.<\/p>\n

Raducanu’s 2025 campaign proved a mixture of promise and frustration.<\/p>\n

She reached the quarter-finals at the Miami Open and recorded two victories over Amanda Anisimova, demonstrating flashes of her considerable talent.<\/p>\n

However, the season was marred by inconsistency and some difficult defeats. <\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Raducanu risks reigniting criticism from tennis pundits after revealing her intention to compete in fewer tournaments during the 2026 season<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The Asian swing proved particularly troublesome, with foot and back problems compounding her difficulties alongside illness.<\/p>\n

Her year concluded prematurely following a loss to Lin Zhu at the Ningbo Open, described as one of her poorest results of the campaign.<\/p>\n

The persistent physical setbacks have raised concerns given Raducanu is still only 23 years old, yet she maintains an optimistic outlook heading into the new season.<\/p>\n

\"TennisFive facts for tennis fans | GETTY\/PA<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Beeb, Raducanu expressed satisfaction with her current situation both professionally and personally.<\/p>\n

“I feel quite content with how things are going on and off the court. I’m in a pretty good place,” she said, adding that she feels “pretty relaxed ahead of next year” despite the challenges posed by her foot injury and health issues.<\/p>\n

The Briton has been working with Francisco Roig, formerly part of Rafael Nadal’s coaching setup and previously employed by Matteo Berrettini, since August. <\/p>\n

She outlined a new approach to physical conditioning, emphasising the integration of fitness work into her warm-up routines rather than treating them as separate sessions.<\/p>\n

“You just have to try and drip feed as much as you can in for the overall health of your body,” Raducanu explained.<\/p>\n

The decision to scale back her schedule is particularly notable given the criticism Raducanu has previously attracted for not competing frequently enough. <\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Raducanu will be hoping to win the Australian Open next month<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

Roddick was among those who questioned her 2024 US Open preparation, pointing to insufficient match practice following her Miami Open run that year.<\/p>\n

Whether the reduced playing strategy stems entirely from Raducanu’s own judgement or reflects input from her coaching team remains uncertain.<\/p>\n

The Australian Open is creeping closer, a tournament Raducanu has never won previously.<\/p>\n

However, should she summon the magic that made her a US Open champion in 2021, a major triumph could be on the cards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emma Raducanu risks reigniting criticism from tennis pundits after revealing her intention to compete in fewer tournaments during…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":476208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[50,1156,1926,62,1464,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-476207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-sgg","10":"tag-sport","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-tennis","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115794920436710942","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}