John McEnroe made a very interesting point about Emma Raducanu’s struggles as the American tennis legend thinks the 22-year-old’s mentality may be causing more issues than the actual injuries.
Since winning the 2021 US Open, the British tennis star has regularly battled physical setbacks – especially during the 2022 and 2023 seasons before undergoing surgeries on both wrists and her foot.
While Raducanu avoided major injury problems last season, there were still niggles that hampered her throughout the year.
She responded by hiring Maria Sharapova’s former long-time strength and conditioning coach Yutaka Nakamura, with the clear goal of getting stronger and being able to play more this year.
But then in the very first week of the 2025 season, the former world No. 10 was forced to withdraw from Auckland due to a back issue.
McEnroe on Raducanu: Mentality and injuries are connected, one is causing more problems than the other
“They’re both connected [mentality and injuries], so you don’t know which one is causing more of the problems,” the former seven-time Grand Slam champion said, via Express-Sport.
“Is it the physical side meaning she’s doubting herself, or was she doubting herself and didn’t push hard enough or pushed too hard? It’s impossible to know.”
Emma Raducanu© ASB Classic/Instagram – Fair Use
When Raducanu started working with Nakamura, she sounded extremely excited and it was clear that she believed he was the missing piece she needed to finally put her fitness woes behind her.
Unfortunately, it was all but a promising start for the current world No. 60 and the fitness coach who also worked with Naomi Osaka in the past.
Meanwhile, a positive thing is that the British tennis star has been practicing at Melbourne Park for a week now.
As it stands now, the back injury won’t prevent Raducanu from taking part at the Australian Open.
However, it will be interesting to see if she will be limited or impacted by the issue when the tournament starts.
Tennis World USA