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Former British number one Laura Robson believes Emma Raducanu has had the perfect preparation for the US Open.
Raducanu has played just three matches since reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon in July as she made the quarter-finals of the Washington Open at the start of the month.
She skipped the Olympics in order to prepare for the American hard-court swing, but then chose not to enter qualifying for tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati, instead having a training block.
The 21-year-old, who is still carefully managing her schedule after wrist and ankle surgery last year, is heading back to Flushing Meadows hoping for a first victory there since shocking the world by winning the title in 2021.
Questions have been asked about Raducanu’s lack of matches, but Robson says that approach suits her.
“She’s not a player who needs a huge amount of matches going into a big event,” Robson told the PA news agency.
“I think we’ve seen that before, where she might play the week before, just to get some fine-tuning done, but she really enjoys the training block and plays her best tennis when she’s coming off a really strong couple of weeks of practice.
“So, it’s a really good sign that, yes, she’s had a few matches and has some confidence and some wins under her belt, but also has the chance to get to New York feeling as fresh as possible, whereas everyone else is probably feeling a bit shattered already.”
Raducanu produced one of the greatest sporting stories when she won in New York three years ago and British number one Katie Boulter will be aiming just as big this year.
Boulter has broke into the world’s top 30 this year and Robson says her compatriot can believe she has a chance of winning the title.
“Well, why not? She wouldn’t be playing unless she believed that as well,” Robson added.
“She absolutely wants to be the best, and has put in so much hard work over the last two years to see that rise in her ranking.
“Every tournament, it feels like there’s a surprise quarter-finalist or semi-finalist.
“I think that just shows the depth in the game at the moment, but also the fact that you know anything can happen if you’re in the best possible position, if you’ve done the preparation and everything else to get yourself there, then it’s absolutely open.
“So just knowing that she believes then sure, why not?”
Robson has been at Wimbledon holding a coaching clinic for Play Your Way To Wimbledon – a national competition with regional and county rounds, which sees winners get the chance to play at SW19.
This year’s competition includes a new junior wheelchair category, which joins an adults’ doubles pathway, visually impaired, wheelchair and learning disability tennis.
“It’s amazing to see how it’s expanded over the last three years, at that point it was just juniors,” said Robson.
“Now we’ve got adults wheelchair, the disability categories, and it just gives more people a chance, which is what you want.
“You want to make tennis as accessible as possible and get more people feeling like Wimbledon is a place where it’s achievable for them, where they can come down and have a chance to hit on a grass court for maybe the first time ever.
“Just to give more people the opportunity is exactly what we want.”
::Vodafone, Official Connectivity Partner of Wimbledon, is working with Laura Robson to inspire the next generation of tennis players through Play Your Way To Wimbledon
