‘Nobody Can Help’ – 55-Year-Old Boris Becker Sounds off on Emma Raducanu’s ‘Career Threatening’ Injuries With a Discouraging Advice for the Youngster

Emma Raducanu was one player who had raised hopes quite high in the 2021 season. But her romping start to her career came to a halt in 2022 by unfortunate injuries. Similarly, her current season has also taken a turn for the worse. Having undergone surgeries on both her wrists and ankle, Raducanu is effectively out for the next few months. Many sympathized with Raducanu over the grave circumstances. Boris Becker is among such people who can empathize with the British player.

Raducanu did not have a great start to the 2023 season, as she had pulled out of the ASB Classic due to an injury. Her Australian Open and the following WTA 1000 events did not have a happy ending either, with Raducanu crashing out before the final stages. Just before her Madrid Open first round, she had to pull out due to her wrist injuries.

Boris Becker empathizes with Emma Raducanu

Becker’s life has been lopsided, to say the least. After five winning slams in his younger years, Becker was not able to play at the same level after he turned 24 due to injury issues. The British number 1, Emma Raducanu, is somewhat in the same boat as the German. After winning a Grand Slam in 2021, Raducanu has been unable to perform at the same level again due to injuries. 

Becker noticed the similar trajectories in the career of the young WTA player and his own, which made him concerned for her future. In an exclusive with the Guardian, the former number 1 stated that the surgeries on her wrists and ankle could spell doom for her career.  

“The surgeries that she has had are, in my opinion, career-threatening,” Becker told the Guardian. “Having surgery on your playing wrist, and as a two-handed player, the other wrist – and then on your ankle – is tough to bear for a young woman.”

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The former German player then talked about playing the sport as an injured player. Having a target on one’s back would mean that people would exploit that injury as often as they can.

“Tennis is a completely different game when you go into court and you have nothing to lose,” he says. “Anybody can play then. It’s a whole different sport when you become the hunted.”

Becker suggested that Raducanu would benefit from someone like his former agent, Ion Tiriac. The Romanian helped Becker reach the stage that he did in his career. While the German believes that someone like Tiriac could help her greatly, she and her parents have to be ready for a major change. 

“Ion was an extremely important mentor because he’d been there before,” he says. “And yeah, there are a couple of people – but not many – who could help her. But, first of all, she has to be ready for it. Her parents have to be ready for it. And if that’s not the case, then nobody can help.“

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Raducanu is currently aiming to make a comeback at the US Open after announcing her withdrawal from the Wimbledon and the French Open. Having suffered such major injuries, relatively early in her career, can the 2021 US Open champion reach the upper echelons of women’s tennis again? We might have to wait and find out.