Three and a half years after her astonishing 2021 US Open triumph catapulted her from A‑level student to global tennis icon, Emma Raducanu arrives at Rome’s Foro Italico hunting more than match wins. The 22‑year‑old Briton is searching for equilibrium—on red clay, inside her support team and, above all, within herself.
A Career at a Crossroads
Raducanu re‑entered the world’s Top 50 last month after quarter‑final runs in Miami and Charleston, lifting her WTA ranking to No 48—her highest position since wrist and ankle surgeries wiped out eight months of the 2023 season. Women’s Tennis AssociationSky Sports The climb has been encouraging, yet inconsistency persists. She owns an 11‑8 win‑loss record in 2025, with early exits at Indian Wells and Madrid contrasting a spirited Australian Open fourth‑round finish.
The Briton freely admits her career remains “an interesting inflection point”: being one of the 50 best players in the world is an achievement, but her long‑stated goal is to contend regularly at the business end of majors. She now believes that ascent depends less on whipping her forehand and more on fortifying her private world.
Trust Issues After Sudden Fame
Raducanu’s introspection is rooted in the turbulent aftermath of her New York breakthrough, which brought sponsors, scrutiny and a carousel of seven coaches in three seasons. “I’m someone who keeps things to myself and it takes a lot for me to open up,” she says, revealing that she has been “burnt a few times” by people she let into her inner circle.
That bruising experience has tightened her circle to “fewer than ever.” Conversations with new acquaintances, she concedes, routinely stall on the boundary of caution: “The last few years, it’s been very difficult for me to trust new people, especially those who have not known me from before the US Open.” For now, she draws comfort from familiar voices that pre‑date fame.
Familiar Faces in the Player’s Box
Enter Mark Petchey and Jane O’Donoghue. Petchey—who guided Raducanu as a junior in 2020 before returning to full‑time commentary—stepped back in after a chance hallway encounter at March’s Miami Open. “I was scared to ask: ‘Can you help?’” Raducanu recalls. “Mark said he could slot sessions around his TV schedule.”
O’Donoghue, her former Lawn Tennis Association mentor and a confidante she likens to an older sister, has also rejoined the travelling party, providing emotional ballast. Together, the makeshift duo offers tactical input and a protective layer against the maelstrom of outside advice that overwhelmed Raducanu in 2022–24.
Although the arrangement is informal, insiders say the continuity already shows: her shot selection has looked clearer, and her on‑court body language more composed, during April’s clay tune‑ups in Stuttgart and Madrid.
Balancing Racquets and Revision
Stability for Raducanu is not limited to coaching. Education, she insists, remains her psychological “escape.” Having pocketed an A* in mathematics and an A in economics in 2021, she is contemplating a third A‑level—English, politics or physics are mooted options—and perhaps an eventual degree course.
“I need some sort of pressure and adrenaline away from tennis,” she explains. “Growing up, I always had tennis as an escape from studying and studying as an escape from tennis.” The dual track, she believes, will prevent her identity from being consumed by ranking graphs and social‑media hot‑takes.
Engineering a Game for Clay
Beyond the mind, clay remains the tour’s most cerebral surface. Raducanu’s 2021‑22 seasons produced just five main‑draw wins on the dirt. A wrist surgery in May 2023 interrupted the heavy‑topspin drilling typically required for clay competence, and tactical mis‑fires plagued her Rome and Paris campaigns in 2024.
Under Petchey’s watch this spring, practice sessions shifted emphasis from pure mechanics to tactical repetition—lengthening cross‑court exchanges, embracing heavier margin and refining the drop‑shot. Early evidence surfaced in Madrid, where she stretched No 10 seed Barbora Krejčíková to three sets before fading. “I’m learning patience,” Raducanu said afterward, “not trying to finish the point on shot two.”
First‑Round Test: Maya Joint
Her Italian Open campaign opens against Australian qualifier Maya Joint, a 19‑year‑old ranked No 117 who wields a big serve and surprising composure. Bookmakers lean towards Raducanu, but analysts warn that Joint’s kick serve into the Briton’s backhand could disrupt rhythm on slower clay.
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Should Raducanu advance, a potential second‑round clash with 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova awaits, followed by a projected meeting with Beijing champion Beatriz Haddad Maia. Deep runs here or at Roland‑Garros could propel her back toward the Top 40 before Wimbledon, where ranking protection would translate to a coveted seeded berth.
Managing Body and Schedule
Physical fragility has shadowed Raducanu since junior days. Her dual wrist surgery in 2023 addressed long‑standing cartilage tears, and an ankle operation tightened lax ligaments. While the joints have held under a lighter match load—she has skipped doubles entirely—niggles still lurk. A lower‑back flare‑up forced precautionary withdrawals from Adelaide and Dubai earlier this season.
Petchey’s camp believes prevention lies in smarter scheduling: fewer trans‑continental swings and more three‑week training blocks. Rome is followed by Strasbourg and Roland‑Garros; after that she will decide whether to play the entire grass double of Berlin and Eastbourne or build mileage on clay‑court movement in lower‑profile ITF events.
Commercial Magnet, Cautious Personality
Off court, Raducanu’s endorsement roster remains enviable—Dior, Porsche, HSBC and British Airways among them—yet she appears more selective than during the frenetic 2022 signing spree. “I’m very independent and I’m actually just listening to myself and my intuition more,” she says, hinting she will not chase every campaign that lands in her inbox.
Her independence, though, can shade into isolation. The British tabloids tracked two separate stalker incidents in 2023 and 2024; unsolicited opinions on her coaching carousel fill comment sections weekly. Small wonder she calls herself “very Fort Knox with who I let in.”
Sports psychologists applaud the new boundaries. “Protecting mental bandwidth is essential for post‑breakthrough athletes,” explains Dr Sarah Rowlinson, who has worked with several WTA pros (not including Raducanu). “A smaller, trusted circle acts as a filter, ensuring constructive feedback outweighs noise.”
Season Outlook
The Briton’s 2025 goals, publicly, remain modest: finish inside the Top 30, stay healthy, and improve her clay winning percentage above .500. Privately, sources say she targets a return to the second week of a Slam—either Paris or Wimbledon—believing that her first multi‑month run of injury‑free tennis since 2021 could unlock the form glimpsed in Miami.
Scheduling balance will be key. She plans to restrict her tournament count to 22 events, roughly one fewer than the average Top‑20 player, to create windows for study blocks and off‑court decompression. “Choose discipline over how I feel,” she repeats—a mantra echoing through practices and, soon, perhaps late‑night revision sessions.
Conclusion
Emma Raducanu’s Italian Open bid may ultimately hinge on forehand heaviness, second‑serve speed or Maya Joint’s nerve on Court Pietrangeli. Yet the bigger contest plays out away from the scoreboard. By tightening her inner circle, rekindling trusted partnerships and reviving academic ambitions, Raducanu is wagering that a balanced life breeds better tennis. Whether that gamble returns her to Grand Slam contention remains to be seen, but for now the 22‑year‑old has rediscovered something priceless—a sense that the direction of her career, and her life, is once again in her own hands.
