Back in 2021, Emma Raducanu burst onto tennis’s grand stage with her stunning US Open triumph. Since then the road hasn’t been easy. Injuries piled up, early exits stung, but she refused to back down. Coach after coach, new methods and fresh ideas kept her evolving. Now in New York, she looks sharper, stronger, and ready to rewrite the story. What’s her secret?

On Wednesday, inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, Raducanu barely gave Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen a chance. She dropped only three games to storm into the third round of the US Open. It was her second straight win over a tricky qualifier, handled with ease. A 6-2, 6-1 victory sealed the deal. It also gave her a 9-2 record at Flushing Meadows and her 26th win of the season.

Emma Raducanu isn’t shy about what fuels her. It’s the grind. “I think first of all the consistency of doing good practice days every day. Building on that. After Miami I did some really good work. I started to do it,” she said. “But I also feel in the last few weeks I’ve really kind of stepped up with what I’m doing on and off court. I’m really happy that I have those people over there in my corner. I’m really grateful for them. I’m just looking forward to building day by day, doing my best.” For Emma, that steady routine has been the theme all season.

Her year has tested her in every way. A stubborn back pain cut short her run at the Australian Open. In Dubai, an unsettling stalker scare left her shaken. Yet Raducanu chose resilience! Coming back at the Miami Open, she fought her way to the quarterfinals for the first time at a 1000s event while working with interim coach Mark Petchey. Later, she linked up with Francisco Roig, who once guided Rafael Nadal, and the results showed! By Washington, she made the semifinals.

Now, she’s back on New York’s big stage, in the round three after three years, carving out another deep run. And then there’s the pressure of being a former champion that does linger. Emma Raducanu admits as much, but she turns it into fuel. “That’s all I can do,” she said. “I’m putting a lot of trust in the work I’m doing behind the scenes. It kind of takes a bit of pressure off. At the same time whenever you play a match on a big stadium, you feel a bit of pressure. But I like to try and use it as much as I can.”

So here she is again, New York under the lights, turning pressure into power. You can catch it all at our Live Blog on EssentiallySports!

Coming back to the British No.1’s form on the court. As mentioned earlier, her coaching team has gone through quite a bit of shake-ups in the past few years. So far, she’s changed between seven guides, and so far, Jane O’Donoghue and Mark Petchey were hailed as two members of her team as “really good people around me who I trust.” And even when speaking about Roig, she was positive about what he could bring to help her.

“It’s going really well. You know, in all areas. I think we got on great off the court, which is important when you’re spending so much time with someone traveling. And obviously on court. He’s amazing. He’s got so much experience. And then in the matches as well,” she told Tennis Channel earlier at the Cincinnati Open. But the Briton hasn’t always had the greatest team.

Emma Raducanu exposes struggles with past team dynamics

Raducanu opened up in a Guardian interview dated August 15 about doubts some in her own team had about her toughness. “I was obviously, like: ‘Oh, no, I am tough enough,’” she said, without naming names. Despite hearing this from people around her, Emma kept believing in herself. “It wasn’t good to hear, because I always prided myself on being a hard worker and being tough. And I believe I am. I actually think it was more the people around me that were incorrect, and it led me to having three surgeries and double wrist surgery.”

Since her 2021 US Open win, Emma Raducanu’s journey has been a tough one, riddled with injuries. She struggled at Wimbledon in 2021 with breathing issues and battled blisters on her right hand at the 2022 Australian Open. Leg cramps, back and side pains caused her to retire from matches in tournaments like the Italian and Nottingham Opens. Her 2022 season ended early after a wrist injury at the Transylvania Open. In 2023, she underwent surgeries on both wrists and an ankle in May, missing the French Open and Wimbledon. Later injuries, including ankle and foot ligament issues, forced more withdrawals in 2024, disrupting her momentum.

The injuries clearly impacted Raducanu’s stats. After a stellar 2021 with 25 wins, she managed only 16 wins in 2022 and 5 in 2023. She bounced back with 18 wins and 13 losses in 2024. In May, speaking to the BBC, Emma reflected on how former coaches pushed her to “just work through it,” telling her she wasn’t tough enough. She said, “I just kept pushing through because people were telling me I wasn’t tough enough, like I need to just work through it.” But now she knows to listen to her body, not the voices from her past coaching teams.

With a stronger support system this season, Emma is showing signs of real progress. Currently World No. 36, she holds a 24-17 win-loss record and is thriving again on the surface where she won it all. The question now? Can she keep this momentum going to deliver a deep run at the 2025 US Open? Share your thoughts in the comments below!