Emma Raducanu can win more Grand Slams despite current malaise, says Serena Williams's ex-coach
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Updated 03/05/2023 at 13:06 GMT
It's been a difficult period for Emma Raducanu over the last few months, with her withdrawal from the Madrid Open the latest complication for the 20-year-old. Confidence and momentum has, as such, been elusive, but ex-coach of Serena Williams Rick Macci reckons Raducanu can yet win more Grand Slams, and be one of the best players in the world.
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Emma Raducanu can win more Grand Slams despite her current malaise says Rick Macci, the former coach of Serena Williams.
The 2021 US Open champion has had to contend with injuries aplenty over the last 18 months, and those issues have seen her struggle to put together a consistent run of form on the match court.
Continuity has been missing on the coaching front too, with a number of different coaches coming and going from her box, with the latest incumbent being Sebastian Sachs, who worked previously with Switzerland's Belinda Bencic.
Raducanu's latest setback - following a curt press conference - saw her withdraw from the Madrid Open, with a problem to her right hand cited as the reason.
Despite all this, Macci - who mentored Serena and her sister Venus Williams during their youth - says things can "flip around", and that Raducanu can get back to the top of tennis.
“I believe that she can come back and be one of the best players in the world and win grand slams," he told the Tennis Unfiltered podcast.
“It’s not where you start. It’s where you finish. Now, obviously what happened in New York [her US Open title], that wasn’t a fluke.
“You have to have the game. You have to have lots of other attributes to do something like that, and her mental strength could be her best asset even though now it’s probably kind of lopsided.
“But I love the technical part of our game. There’s nothing like a hole there say like Coco Gauff’s forehand. So the technical part is good. She’s authoritative. She can play through you. She has the game.
“So I still believe in her. She’s very young. She has the game. She has the talent in my opinion.
“This thing can flip around. I don’t know who’s involved with her. I know they’ve shuffled the deck. How much of it is her, the people around her… but I’d love that opportunity. Don’t count her out.
“I’ve never met her – I would love to work with this young lady. I could help her mentally. I know I could get this girl back on track."
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Emma Raducanu
Image credit: Getty Images
Macci expanded on what could be lying behind Raducanu's woes, and referenced the Williams' sisters "bulletproof" exterior as they made their way in the game.
“Her life has changed," Macci said of Raducanu. "But that doesn’t mean she has to change. Everything has changed around her, but it’s still her playing tennis.
“I don’t know her. Is she still that hungry, still that competitive? These are the questions that are going to be asked a lot, because people are always going to assume that’s why she’s not doing as well, because she has other interests, blah, blah, blah.
“I can’t answer that question, but it has to be about one thing, anybody, anytime, anywhere: a love to compete, and by the way, if I compete well, there’s candy at the end of that. It can’t be the other way around. If it is, you’re not going to be as hungry.
“I think that she’s been taught very well. She understands the geometry of the court. Those things are there. But I’d have to sit down with her or any pro player that was struggling, [because] I got to know what’s in her head. I got to know what’s going on, before I get into it because confidence, you can’t buy over the internet. You can’t buy it at the grocery store, it can come and go in the blink of an eye.
“And there’s a fine line: when you’re confident, you take it a little early, cut the court, more adventurous, get up to the ball earlier, volley more. That’s what people don’t understand in sports. Confidence breeds confidence, Unfortunately, it can go the other way.
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Serena Williams; Venus Williams
Image credit: Imago
“That’s what I saw about Venus and Serena, they were bulletproof. Nothing fazed them. I could see that. I’d love that opportunity if it ever came. But I just have to get to know her and what’s in her head because the game is there. But it’s a game of inches. But I think in the blink of an eye, this can turn around.”
Returning to the theme of confidence, Macci added the instructive example of Jennifer Capriati, who won Olympic Gold as a 16-year-old, and broke multiple records during her stunning teenage breakout.
“You remember Capriati disappeared off the face of the earth," he said. "Disappeared. She not only came back, she came all the way back, and won three grand slams, and an Olympic gold.
“You don’t lose the talent. You don’t lose the game. You lose the confidence.”
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