Emma Raducanu backed to recover from BJK Cup absence - ‘She can get it back on track quite quickly’
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Updated 30/10/2022 at 12:51 GMT
Former British No. 1 Annabel Croft believes that Emma Raducanu will come back stronger after a torrid year, which has culminated in her withdrawal from the Billie Jean King Cup. Croft also praised Raducanu's decision to bring in Andy Murray's former fitness coach Jez Green, sensing it is a shrewd move as the 2021 US Open champion looks to consign a frustrating 2022 to the past.
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Emma Raducanu is being backed by former British No. 1 Annabel Croft to recover from a frustrating 2022 season that has been blighted by injuries, following news of the 19-year-old's withdrawal from the Billie Jean King Cup.
Raducanu confirmed she would not compete for Great Britain in next month’s team event in Glasgow due to a wrist injury, but Croft is confident the teenager will come back stronger.
“We know how good she is because we saw that at the US Open [in 2021], she is such an amazing athlete,” she told Tennis365 at a at a Game4Padel event.
“She is so intelligent and it will just take time for her to settle down to her new-found fame.
“Her life has changed overnight and that is a lot to cope with for someone so young. The talent is there and she can get it back on track quite quickly.
“She is doing her apprenticeship back to front and it will take time. To think that she has gone from 300 in the world to a Grand Slam champion and everyone wanting a piece of her and every match she plays being on a centre court. That has to be difficult.
“Everything is being done in the glaring full view of the world’s media, press and fans. It can’t have been easy.
“If you take away the US Open result and look at her age, where she is at, she has done quite well.”
Croft also believes that the addition of Andy Murray’s former fitness coach Jez Green to her team is a shrewd move.
“She has beaten some very decent players, but she had had a lot of retirements and three-set tussles," Croft said.
“I think the appointment of Jez Green on the fitness side of things is a really good appointment. He knows a thing or two about fitness and it will all be about building up her strength and conditioning.”
Britain will now enter the tournament without the 2021 US Open champion, in a team that is currently comprised of Harriet Dart, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson, with the remaining two players yet to be announced by team captain Anne Keothavong.
The Brits face Kazakhstan and Spain in group matches at the World Cup-style event, with the pool winners progressing through to the semi-finals.
This is despite their loss to the Czech Republic in April’s play-offs, with qualification coming after Glasgow was announced as the host for the finals.
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