Remember how British journalist Piers Morgan once urged home talent Emma Raducanu to “toughen up”? That, too, at a time when Covid was still a looming danger and people needed to care about their health more than anything else? The incident took place during the 2021 Wimbledon when Raducanu opted to withdraw against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović in the fourth round. The 22-year-old had difficulty in breathing, but it seemed like the media in the UK was more inclined to results than one’s well-being. The situation got so tough for her that former ATP icon Andy Murray had to step in.

Initially, Morgan wrote on X (while misspelling Raducanu’s name) that “Ms Raducuna’s a talented player but couldn’t handle the pressure & quit when she was losing badly.” Later, Murray defended the British WTA player while responding to Morgan. “Think this is a very harsh take on the situation Piers.” Even Murray’s mother came forward to share her perspective. She mentioned, “Middle-aged men should generally avoid commenting on the physical or mental well-being of teenage girls.” Two months later, everyone witnessed how strong and determined a player Raducanu was. She scripted history for Great Britain at the Flushing Meadows. In the 2021 US Open, she entered as a qualifying wildcard and went on to lift the trophy.

Still, the British media appeared to have forgotten her accomplishment while building pressure to keep replicating similar results in every major event. According to trolls and critics, her US Open triumph was a ‘fluke’. However, former British WTA pro Naomi Broady gave a fitting reply to such noises saying, “People who have that attitude and say Emma got lucky when we won the US Open don’t understand tennis,” she said during an interaction with Tennis365 back in February.

Well, Broady has come forward in support of Raducanu once again. During an interaction with ex-WTA icon Tracy Austin on Tennis Channel, dated June 18, Broady revealed, “We have quite a negative press, I think it is fair to say. It’s kind of glass is always half-empty here. So I think a lot of the British public kind of expected her to just continue to win Grand Slams.”

She further added, “They definitely didn’t understand the enormity of being the first player ever to win the U.S. Open from the qualifying without dropping a set.” But she emphasized that the win’s been forgotten very quickly. “Now it has changed. They said, ‘Well, that was a fluke, and that was so lucky that she was able to do that.’ How can you say that after three weeks of match wins?” 

Interestingly, during the 2021 US Open, after her straight set victory over Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, she became the first player to move from qualifying stage to the main draw and win the Grand Slam. She didn’t even lose a single set from all her ten matches. She played 3 qualifying and 7 main draw encounters.

However, following her US Open glory, Raducanu witnessed an unfortunate period. Due to constant injury issues, she’s missed the on-court action for a long time. In 2023, she was absent from many events due to the surgeries on both wrists and her left ankle. Then last season, ahead of the ASB Classic in Auckland in December, she was forced to withdraw her name. Reason- A back injury. But her return to the court this season has been promising – if not stupendous.

Emma Raducanu will look to find form going into the Wimbledon

The comeback in 2025 wasn’t actually memorable for Emma Raducanu. Back in January, she failed to last more than three rounds during the Australian Open. Former World No.1 Iga Swiatek defeated her in straight sets (6-1, 6-0). If the exit wasn’t a big blow, her longtime coach Nick Cavaday also left her team citing personal reasons.

In the next four tournaments (Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Dubai), Raducanu’s form got even worse. She couldn’t get past the first rounds in any of her campaign. The Brit then went for a momentary workaround. She hired former Slovakian pro Vladimir Platenik ahead of the Indian Wells. But guess what? The collaboration lasted for just 14 days. She faced another early exit after losing to Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the first round match.

But things started turning in her favor a little bit. How? Going into the Miami Open, she opted to bring back Mark Petchey. The latter is Andy Murray’s ex-coach. Plus, he’s already worked with Raducanu during the 2021 US Open winning campaign. Under his tutelage, the 22-year-old delivered a solid performance in Miami. She went on to enter the quarterfinal stage before losing to America’s Jessica Pegula.

Later the Brit admired Petchey’s role saying she felt “more optimistic, I feel pretty positive about things going forward. I’m just taking it day by day and trying to stay consistent.” Additionally, she’s decided to not feel any kind of pressure going forward this season. All she’s now focusing on is to get “more aggressive and play the way I want to more so, so it can help me on the other surfaces,” said Raducanu. Her next big challenge awaits on the grass surface at the Wimbledon.

So far, she’s played three campaigns at the All England Club. Sadly, she’s not been able to move beyond the fourth round. This year, she will look to change the unfavorable record and earn her second career slam.