'She needs to be focussed on the game' - Justine Henin sends Emma Raducanu a warning ahead of US Open defence
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Updated 26/08/2022 at 08:47 GMT
Justine Henin believes getting the US Open "behind her" will be beneficial for Emma Raducanu. The 19-year-old Brit memorably won her first major in New York last year, but it's been a weight on her shoulders this year trying to live up to those lofty heights. Raducanu opens up her title defence with a tough battle against Alize Cornet, conqueror of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon.
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Justine Henin says Emma Raducanu must be "focussed on the game" if she is to have further success in her career.
As the 2022 US Open gets underway on Monday, thoughts inevitably turn to that sensational night nearly 12 months ago in New York when Raducanu beat Leylah Fernandez to win her first major title at just 18-years-old, having come all the way through qualifying to the final without dropping a set.
Since then however, it's been not been nearly as smooth a ride for the British teenager, with injuries and a series of difficult results marring her 2022 season.
But Raducanu looked to have found some of her best form earlier this month when demolishing multiple major champs Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka in Cincinnati, and she will need the confidence from those wins as she starts her US Open title defence with a tough assignment against Alize Cornet.
Henin thinks simply getting the US Open out of the way - however far she goes - may be beneficial for Raducanu.
The Belgian said: "I think it's time for her that the US Open is behind her.
"If we come back a year ago, we couldn't expect that from her. She was playing the first tournaments on the tour and then she wins a Grand Slam the way she did. We all loved it – it [the final] was with Leylah [Fernandez]. It was fresh. They were playing great tennis.
"We need personalities also on the tour and I think these two really gave us a lot of emotions last year. I was really excited about what was happening and then what happened after - we could expect this in a certain way.
"I don't know her [Raducanu] personally. So the fact she changed coach, she changed a lot of things - everyone started to criticise this but I'm not into it really to judge this.
"The only thing I say is she needs to be focused on the game if she wants to keep a certain kind of balance in what's happening for her and after winning a Grand Slam of course so much attention, so many solicitations, agents and probably money and a lot of things.
"We can suppose that it's not easy to deal with at such a young age with no experience. But you can build, build, build because you are very good, very young and then you start winning Grand Slams early.
"What happened in the last few months with her was quite normal. I think she will be relieved also once this US Open will be behind her. How she's going to deal with it, we will see. We can suppose it's not going to be that easy. But I think this game is full of surprises."
Henin talks from experience, having reached her first major final aged 19 at the 2001 Wimbledon, before winning the 2003 French Open to start her run of seven career majors.
And she thinks only time will tell what sort of player Raducanu becomes.
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Henin said: "How she can compose herself with everything that happened in her life - that will be the question. Not only in the next few weeks – the US Open is almost a detail for Raducanu - but how she's going to deal with her career in the next few weeks, few months, next few years, because she's so young. That is going to be the question.
"We will see what kind of player she is. We cannot say after the US Open last year what kind of player she was. It was fresh. It was great to see. But we needed to see more.
"And we cannot judge at this moment right now. We will do it a bit later."
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