The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Raducanu ‘a special talent’ who fears no one
One look at Emma Raducanu was enough to convince tennis coach Matt James that he had a special talent on his hands.
A chance meeting with Nigel Sears, then working with the 15-year-old on a consultancy basis, at Wimbledon three years ago led to Welshman James being offered the chance to coach her day to day.
“You could tell straight away that she’s pretty special,” James said.
“The mindset and the maturity on the match court you don’t see very often, I hadn’t seen at all really. So that was quite exciting.
“You knew she could handle the big occasions and it’s just a case of making those big improvements on the court to back it up.
“Obviously she’s a really bright girl and you can tell she’s so determined to excel in everything she does. It’s no surprise that she’s really good academically.
“When we were at Bromley (Tennis Centre), we were playing tennis in between her school sessions, whereas a lot of players her level would have stopped the education after GCSEs. But she’s really gritty and determined to do both very well, so credit to her.”
James worked with Raducanu full-time for just over two years, honing her game for senior tennis and helping her take her first steps on the professional tour before taking up a role as the Lawn Tennis Association’s National Tennis Centre Coach last October.
The teenager had success straight away in the lower tiers but she decided not to travel during the pandemic, focusing on her A-levels and playing only domestically.
She did not play a professional match between February 2020 and June 2021, so the fact she finds herself in the fourth round of Wimbledon four weeks later is an astounding achievement.
James is temporarily back as part of team Raducanu and sat courtside for her thrilling victory over Sorana Cirstea on Court One on Saturday.
He said: “The level that she played, I’ve seen that before, I’ve seen it on practice courts, so the tennis isn’t hugely a big surprise but some of the shots under sheer pressure really did surprise me. We know that she likes the big stage but she was still going into the unknown.
“This is the first time she’s fully committed to a tennis career so it’s great she’s had success so quickly. But it was just a case of when. It was going to be inevitable with her that she was going to burst onto the scene.
“It’s probably a little bit sooner than I thought because she hasn’t played many matches in the last year but she’s really taken her opportunity.
“She’s three matches in and physically she looks strong. She’ll be worrying all the opponents now.”
Raducanu is now working full-time with Sears. That she has a hugely-experienced guiding hand will no doubt help given she has gone from virtual anonymity to the front pages of national newspapers in a week.
Next up for the 18-yearold is unseeded Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, who is 10 years Raducanu’s senior but also looking to reach a grand slam quarter-final for the first time.
“I don’t think Emma really fears anyone,” said James. “She’s beaten a few of the girls who are top 30 in the world in practice sets so it’s not a surprise the tennis is holding up. And it’s great she’s getting some experiences to elevate her even more.”
Meanwhile after 13 of the top 20 seeds went out in the first week Angelique Kerber is the only former champion remaining in the women’s draw.
She now faces the new sweetheart of Centre Court Coco Gauff, who has matched her 2019 run to the fourth round. It is the first meeting between the pair.
World number one Ashleigh Barty has matched her best-ever run at SW19 and will now face French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who had never won a match at Wimbledon before this year.
Iga Swiatek takes on Ons Jabuer in an entertaining looking clash, while second seed Aryna Sabalenka is up against Elena Rybakina and former world number one Karolina Pliskova plays Liudmila Samsonova.
Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova go up against each other with Madison Keys and Viktorija Golubic completing the last-16 line-up.