At just 20, Coco Gauff is already reaching numerous career highs. Last year, she won the US Open, her maiden Grand Slam title, which put her among the top tennis stars list. Further, her massive victory also led to comparisons to the legends of American tennis like Serena and Venus Williams. Recently, Gauff made a heartfelt revelation about them.
The American sensation is gearing up for the Paris Olympics later this year. Gauff will carry her country’s hopes in the tournament and she is one of the favorites to win the gold medal there. Let’s find out what she had to say about the legendary Williams sisters.
Serena and Venus Williams made a young Coco Gauff believe in herself
Earlier this week, Gauff unveiled a renovated tennis court in Delray Beach, Florida. It is a part of the USTA’s $3 Million US Open Legacy Initiative and was created in honor of Gauff’s US Open victory last year. Ahead of the Miami Open, the American sensation was present to do the honors, where she also talked about her inspirations in tennis.
Talking about the impact on the community and where she took inspiration from, Gauff revealed, “I saw myself in Serena and Venus. And so it made me believe that I could do something. I am a product of the strong community — and the village it took to get me to where I am now.”
Further, she went on to add, “First, here is because I think of the court that made the impact to me in the community, put so much into me so I have to give back to the community.” While Gauff has drawn comparisons to the Williams sisters, she has always looked up to them in her tennis career. Gauff once also revealed the prospects of facing the younger Williams sister on the tennis court.
Gauff wasn’t ready to face Serena Williams
Fortunately or unfortunately, Gauff has never faced Serena Williams on the WTA Tour. While the American sensation was still an emerging player, Serena Williams was nearing the end of her career. Nonetheless, Gauff dreamt of her chances if she could’ve faced the younger Williams sister. She said, “Playing Serena at Wimbledon, I don’t know, I feel like it would have messed up my story. I wasn’t ready for Serena at that time.”
Meanwhile, Gauff is the third seed in Miami. She has received a bye in the opening round and will begin her campaign in the round of 64. Can she achieve success at the Miami Open? Let us know your views in the comments below.
Behind every successful sportsperson, there is someone who stands as a pillar of support. Take the example of Venus and Serena Williams. Throughout their careers, their father, Richard Williams gave everything to support his daughters in tennis. Like the Williams sisters, Iga Swiatek has had a similar tale. She has been strongly supported by her father, Tomasz Swiatek. She hasn’t let him down, as she has become one of the best players in recent times. But where did she get the sporting genes from?
Like Swiatek, her father was also an athlete, representing Poland in various competitions. Let’s find out more about his sporting career and whether he represented his country on sport’s biggest stage, the Olympic Games.
Which sport did the father of Iga Swiatek pursue?
Tomasz Swiatek was an international rower and represented his country on many stages. He also competed at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games, representing Poland in the men’s quadruple sculls. His performance enabled Poland to win the ‘B’ final and finish seventh overall.
However, his biggest success came at the 1987 Universiade in Zagreb where he won the gold medal in quadruple sculls event. Additionally, he was also conferred an Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta ‘for sports achievements, for promoting Poland in the international arena’ a few years back.
Not only has Tomasz Swiatek supported his daughter in her tennis career but also on the personal front. When the Polish tennis star faced the wrath of fans following early Wimbledon exit last year, her father defended her.
When Swiatek’s father acted like a pillar of support for his daughter
Ever since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, Swiatek has often spoken about geo-political tensions. As a result, when Swiatek lost her Wimbledon match against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, it didn’t go down well with a section of her fans.
Subsequently, during an interview, her father defended her and slammed the fans, saying, “She plays with a ribbon on her hat, her views are clear – she wants the war to end. Unfortunately, after the match with Elina Svitolina there were many negative comments. It was hurtful.”
Swiatek is going strong at the ongoing Indian Wells tournament. She will face Marta Kostyuk in a few hours. It’ll be interesting to see if the Pole can win the title in Indian Wells.
British tennis star Emma Raducanu recently spoke about the challenges she faced while returning to the professional tennis court. Last year, Raducanu went through several rough patches as she faced many injuries. As a result, Raducanu’s performance was impacted negatively, and she had to step down from attending many tournaments. Now that this British tennis prodigy is back on the court, she talked about her ‘pretty intense’ days.
Emma Raducanu bagged her debut victory at the Abu Dhabi Open 2024 after recovering from a total of three surgeries. Emma Raducanu recently appeared on the sets of the Tennis Channel and had a conversation with Steve Weissman and Prakash Amritraj.
This tennis star defeated Marie Bouzkova in the Abu Dhabi Open and after that, she was asked about her surgeries. Raducanu said, “Yeah I had three surgeries in ten days, which was pretty intense. I mean for two-three weeks, you can’t do anything because all that has to swell and all that, you can’t move like I had a scooter and I can’t even use crutches. It’s because of my wrist surgeries. So, it was really difficult and I was kind of swapping two weeks in a cast and then take that of rise and spin. It wasn’t necessarily smooth coming back.”
However, this tennis star expressed her pride over her latest achievement. When asked about the things she is proud of, Raducanu commented, “I think I am most proud of the way that I have refocused in difficult moments in both situations like having a lead and losing a break.”
Raducanu continued, “I think the course the way I dealt with not particularly feeling myself out there and a lot of double faults more than usual I didn’t let that affect me or bother me and I also think that the way I was able to neutralize herself and that’s one way cause it was a great contract.”
Emma Raducanu is currently the World No. 298
Emma Raducanu’s story of coming back from three surgeries and dominating on the court is more than impressive. However now, let’s take a look at how she played against Marie Bouzkova.
Snippets from Emma Raducanu’s recent victory at the Abu Dhabi Open 2024
British tennis prodigy Raducanu successfully entered into the second round of the Abu Dhabi Open after defeating Marie Bouzkova. With a score of 6-4,6-1, Raducanu defeated Bouzkova. In a total of 82 minutes, this British tennis star won 10 out of 11 games after the first set.
Raducanu said after winning- “I think in the beginning I was just adjusting to the speed of the court, Marie is a really tough opponent, I knew I was going to have to play so many balls. In the beginning I was missing a few of the finishing shots but I cleaned that up so I’m very happy about that.”
Raducanu’s journey to return to the court this season is a testament to her hard work. If she continues to perform with such dedication, fans will soon get to see the former US Open champion acing in her tennis game again.
The Venezuelan-born Swiss-residing Spaniard made history against the most famous family in the women’s game, and there’s no mountains she can’t climb …
1. Kilimanjaro
Muguruza’s challenging off-season set her up perfectly for Melbourne
Garbine Muguruza has already climbed the summit of the tennis rankings, but after a tough 2019, which left her on the precipice of falling outside the top 30, the Spaniard turned her focus to ascending a different type of peak. A five-day expedition to the top of Africa’s highest, Mt Kilimanjaro, ensued. “We crossed waterfalls, rivers, icy rivers, caves, cliffs, and the hardest: frozen nights,” Muguruza wrote in Instagram posts. “At some point, I was crying when my guide told me to not look down at the 300m free-fall.” It was a challenge which helped give the 26-year-old a fresh outlook for the season ahead, to shift her concerns away from tennis for a while. “It was a very hard challenge, completely different of what I do,” she said. “You’re climbing that mountain and it’s only you. You don’t get any award, any prize, any photo, any nothing up there.
“It’s really challenging you physically and mentally to be there, and I was just looking for something fun, different experience outside from tennis.
“I really like the experience to see myself in the middle of nowhere and, yeah, just having one clear thought just to keep climbing.”
2. Martinez back on board
The Martinez-Muguruza partnership is again paying dividends
As Spain’s first woman to win Wimbledon in 1994, Conchita Martinez seamlessly slotted into an interim coaching role for compatriot Muguruza on her successful 2017 campaign at the All England Club. The 47-year-old rejoined her star charge in the off-season on a full-time basis, and again the Grand Slam results have immediately followed. “It’s like couples,” Martinez said. “We all want Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to get back together, right? Sometimes it happens like that … Now being back with Garbine, it feels great to be back and united, working hard. For me to see her doing well is great.” Martinez joined Muguruza for a five-week training block in San Diego in the off-season, and was relishing having her compatriot as the main voice in her ear now. “We’ve known each other for so many years. We get along since the first day we met,” Muguruza said. “We’ve had successful experiences before together, also working with her and as a Fed Cup captain. Of course, there’s no guarantees. Nobody’s magical. I think the secret is put the work, hang in there, fight hard. So far I’m trying to put that together.”
3. She has experienced life at the top
Muguruza became a two-time major champion in 2017
Until this year, Muguruza had not tasted the kind of second-week success at Melbourne Park as she had at Roland Garros or Wimbledon, with her best result being a lone quarterfinal showing three years ago. But that’s not to say Australia hadn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds for the Spaniard – she won her first tour title six years ago at Hobart. Muguruza lost to Serena Williams in the second round on her Melbourne Park debut in 2013 but avenged that defeat in a huge boilover at the same stage at Roland Garros a year later against the world No.1 en route to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. In 2015, Williams again had her number when Muguruza appeared in her first major final at Wimbledon, but she didn’t have to wait long to land the Grand Slam silverware. After back-to-back quarterfinals at Roland Garros she again stunned Williams in straight sets, this time in the final to capture her first major in 2016. The triumph made her just the second Spanish woman after three-time champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to win Roland Garros. In 2017, Muguruza triumphed over Venus Williams at Wimbledon. It made her the first player to beat both Williams sisters in major singles finals. Muguruza later rose to world No.1 in September of that year.
4. Star power
Despite finishing an inconsistent 2019 at world No.28, Muguruza’s star power still reeled in the big bucks. She ended the year tied in 10th place for the highest-paid female athletes on the planet with prize money for the season of $US2.4 million and endorsements worth $US3.5 million. In 2018, she was the fourth highest-paid female athlete in the world after only Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens, with $US11 million. It was following her 2017 Wimbledon triumph that her profile soared even higher with a hefty bonus from sponsor Adidas, as well as deals with Rolex and Evian. Her other sponsors include Babolat, Beats by Dre and Maui Jim sunglasses. Muguruza attracts a huge supporter base on social media too. She became the most popular top-five player on Instagram in the wake of her Wimbledon 2017 victory, picking more than 100,000 new followers. She now has more than 756,000 on Instagram, 492,200 on Twitter and 452,333 on Facebook. Should she complete three-quarters of a career Grand Slam in Saturday night’s final her following would skyrocket even higher. Fellow former No.1 Simona Halep saw no reason her semifinal conqueror could not return to being one of the biggest star’s in the women’s game. “If she can play every day like this, she can be No.1, for sure,” Halep said. “But it’s tough to do that. The consistency on tour, it’s the most important thing and the toughest one. She’s a great champion. She knows how to win Grand Slams, how to win titles. She’s OK. Everyone has tough periods.”
5. She first picked up a racquet in Venezuela
Muguruza spent her early years in Venezuela
Spain’s most successful women’s player since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario spent the first six years of her life in her mother’s native Venezuela. Born in Caracas, in October 1993, Muguruza first picked up a racquet when she was three, hitting balls with her two brothers, Asier and Igor. In 1999, her family moved to her Basque father’s home country, Spain, where she was enrolled in the Bruguera Tennis Academy in Barcelona. While listed as Spanish with the WTA, it was not until October 2014 the proud dual citizen made the difficult decision to represent Spain over her homeland, Venezuela. “I have Venezuela and Spain in my blood and heart, and family in both countries,” Muguruza said at the time. It was not an easy decision as both her brothers had picked up ATP ranking points played for Venezuela. “I was always following my brothers,” Garbine told Elle in an interview two years ago. “If my brothers hadn’t played [tennis], I never would have picked up a racquet. Tennis isn’t the most popular sport in Venezuela. They wanted to [move to Spain] because it’s a more important sport over there. So we all moved.”
The Swiss, 20-time grand slam champion, opens up in an interview with GQ
Tennis great Roger Federer says he does not miss tennis after putting his racquet aside late in 2022. The Swiss legend broke record after record during his long career, but he has truly left the game behind in his retirement.
After winning 20 Grand Slams, Federer called it a day in September of 2022, and since then, he has been catching up on family life and much more.
Asked by GQ if he misses playing, he simply responded: “Not really, actually.” He reasoned with a laugh: “My back was fine yesterday.”
Federer was then quizzed. on what he felt after retiring.”I’m really relieved, if that makes any sense,” he said. “I mean, the last few years have been tough with my knee. You could feel the end coming closer. So when it’s all said and done and you’re over the line and you’re retired officially, you take a deep breath and you’re like, ‘Wow, okay, that was good.’
“In the moment, it was suffering. Because I knew it was going to be hard. The moment of retirement in London, everything that led up to it. And then of course you have flashbacks a little bit later when you see highlights or people ask you, ‘How did you feel in that very moment?’ and they show you a highlight. You’re like, ‘Oh, my God, do I really have to see that again?'”
Opening up on his mindset in his life after tennis, the Swiss great added: “Good question. I feel…what do I feel? I feel minutes matter more now than before. I don’t know if it’s an age thing as well, as you get older, you feel like time’s running away from you and you still have a lot to accomplish, a lot to do.”
Federer on watching old rivals Djokovic and Nadal
Federer enjoyed many incredible battles with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal during his career, and he must now watch on as the former, in particular, chases down many of his records.
Then again, the 42-year-old doesn’t watch all that much of the sport he mastered, or at least not live.
“I watch highlights,” he admitted. “A full match is hard for me to watch because I’m just too busy with children and running around. Maybe I watched one full, entire match last year.
“But other than that, it’s highlights and I check scores every day. I’m surprised actually. I thought I was just going to check out completely and not care so much, but I guess I still know too many players and I want to see how they do.”
Speaking about Djokovic and Nadal’s achievements, he continued: “I mean, obviously you’re aware when they’re in the finals or you’re aware when Rafa comes back or you’re aware when Novak breaks another record. It’s all good, you know? But I will not set my schedule aside, like, well, This match I have to see.
“But obviously I’ve followed it and I love to see that, especially Novak’s been going from strength to strength. It keeps on going. And Rafa obviously, I felt sad for him that he has not been able to play nearly as much or at all to what he wanted to do.
“I hope that he can do what he wants to do in the summer, because even though I have a good feeling for him, and I know he pulled out of Indian Wells and Doha and all that stuff, but I still am very hopeful that he can get back on the train and ride it.”
After withdrawing from Miami Open following shock defeat by No. 123 Luca Nardi
Shirtless Novak Djokovic headed out for a jog on Miami Beach on Monday morning.
The tennis player, 36, showed off his muscular physique as he got some light exercise in.
It comes after losing in the third round at Indian Wells, top-ranked athlete Novak announced he would skip the Miami Open this year
The Serbian player announced his decision on Saturday following his 6-4, 3-5, 6-3 defeat to No 123 Luca Nardi at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday.
While out on his jog he wore blue swimming trunks and had a silver chain around his neck.
Nardi, 20, became the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 level event.
The last player to hold the feat was No. 122 Kevin Anderson in Miami in 2008.
‘Unfortunately I won’t be playing the Miami Open this year,’ Djokovic wrote. ‘At this stage of my career, I’m balancing my private and professional schedule.
‘I’m sorry that I won’t experience some of the best and most passionate fans in the world. I’m looking fw competing in MI in future!’
Before losing to Nardi, Djokovic secured a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win over Aleksandar Vukic in the second round.
Nardi got into the field as a ‘lucky loser’ – the title used for players who stumble in qualifying rounds but enter the main draw by replacing a player who pulls out before the first round.
Despite sitting out the tournament this year, Djokovic has won the Miami Open six times. The hard-court tournament will begin next week.
After winning seven singles titles in 2023, Djokovic is still searching for his first championship this year to add to the 98 in his career.
Nardi, 20, (right) became the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 level event
Additionally, he has collected $181,599,018 in prize money since 2007.
Novak is married to wife Jelena. The pair have two children, Stefan, born in 2014, and Tara, born in 2017.
They first met at their Serbian high school in the late 90s, however, they didn’t officially start dating until 2005.
The pair got engaged in September 2013 and officially tied the knot back in July 2014.
The wedding was held at Aman Sveti Stefani in 2014, just days after Novak won his second Wimbledon title.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Miami Open with a lower back injury – but her management company say the issue is “nothing serious”.
The 21-year-old was due to face China’s Wang Xiyu in the first round on Tuesday.
However, she does not want to risk aggravating the injury by playing in the tournament in the United States.
It is a blow to Raducanu’s comeback following an injury-disrupted 2023 season.
“I have been experiencing lower back pain and at this stage of my return to competition I don’t want to risk anything happening,” Raducanu said in a statement issued by tournament organisers.
“I really tried my best to be ready and I’m sad to be pulling out of Miami as it’s a cool tournament, but wish the event all the best.”
The 2021 US Open champion was beaten in straight sets by world number two Aryna Sabalenka in the third round at Indian Wells last week.
It is not known whether the injury will impact Raducanu’s selection in Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup squad for their qualifying-round tie with France from 12-13 April.
Before her defeat by two-time Australian Open winner Sabalenka, Raducanu had recorded back-to-back victories for the first time since winning three in a row at Indian Wells 12 months ago.
She made her return to the tour in January following an eight-month absence, during which she had operations on both of her wrists and her left ankle.
Now ranked 288th in the world, Raducanu – who was given a wildcard for the Miami Open – said earlier this month she was “not too concerned” about results as her focus this year is on developing her game.
Meanwhile, Britons Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter are preparing to start their tournaments in Miami.
Murray, a two-time winner in Florida, will face Italian Matteo Berrettini in the first round on Wednesday, with the winner taking on Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round.
Draper, 22, takes on Taro Daniel of Japan, while 33-year-old Evans faces Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
British number ones Norrie and Boulter play on Friday, as the pair have both received first-round byes as two of the 32 men’s and women’s seeded players.
The greatest light-heavyweight of them all, Archie Moore, was 47 and still champion of the world when he explained better than anyone – before or since – why so many sporting immortals refuse to go gently into the good night.
Novak Djokovic was out of sorts and lost against Luca Nardi at Indian Wells.
At this point the siren call of family and the easy life was deafening. Moore also knew his wife yearned for him to retire, and he adored spending time with his young daughters “lest they forget that love and life go hand in hand”. Yet the mere thought of fighters half his age wanting his belts stirred the warrior in him once more.
“I’m still the old mongoose in there trying to outwit and outhit the younger guys,” he said. “I’m like the drunk in the bar who wants one more for the road. I want one more knockout to add to my record and then just one more after that. Some people say it’s great when a man retires undefeated. But a champion should fight to the finish and go out with his hands cocked just as he came in. It’s the proper exit and I think it may be mine.”
And so on Moore went, for another three years, taking on all-comers including a young Muhammad Ali, before finally retiring at 50 after his 186th career victory.
I thought of Moore’s words while watching Novak Djokovic suffer a shock defeat to world No 123 Luca Nardi at Indian Wells last week. And again as the two young contenders for his No 1 crown, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, duked it out on Saturday night – with Alcaraz winning that duel in three sets before swatting aside Daniil Medvedev 7-6, 6-1 in Sunday’s final.
With it came a recurring – and increasingly open – question: for how much longer can Djokovic summon the warrior energy to keep winning multiple grand slam titles every year?
It wasn’t simply that Djokovic endured the worst defeat of his career in a major event against Nardi. It was the manner of his third defeat in 11 matches in 2024. No one is better in clutch moments than the Serb. But against Nardi he reverted to catenaccio tennis, hitting only two winners and two unforced errors in the decisive final set. His opponent, by contrast, smashed 16 winners to four unforced errors.
Nardi shakes hands with Djokovic after stunning him in three sets.
There was something else, too. Usually the longer the point, the more tennis’s iron man asserts himself. But against Nardi, Djokovic won only 13 of the 37 rallies that went nine shots or more. Afterwards he admitted graciously that his opponent deserved to win. But, tellingly, he added: “My level was really, really bad. I made some really terrible unforced errors.”
There were familiar echoes of Djokovic’s comments after his Australian Open defeat against Sinner, where he hit 54 unforced errors in a four-set defeat. “I was, in a way, shocked with my level, in a bad way,” he said.
For now, at least, it is premature to talk of the torch being passed to the next generation. But, perhaps for the first time, there is a sense that the tennis gods are scratching around for kerosene and a lighter.
It was an issue that Djokovic acknowledged before Indian Wells when he spoke of his sadness at the impending end of tennis’s golden era of him, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
“We all know that those moments will come for all of us,” he said. “But when they actually come, and when you actually understand that that’s it – that Roger finished his career, Rafa and I are probably not going to play much more, it’s kind of one era comes to an end and it’s sad.”
There will be those who point out that Djokovic won three grand slam titles as recently as last year, as well as the end-of-season ATP Finals. That he has had early season wobbles before – including a defeat against the Japanese player Taro Daniel at Indian Wells in 2018 – and then come back to win grand slam titles. And that these days he concentrates most of his focus on the slam tournaments.
And while all that is true, not even Djokovic – who turns 37 in May – will be able to defy father time forever. The bookies’ odds are starting to reflect that. Alcaraz is favourite across the board for the French Open, while some also make the Spaniard the shortest price to retain the Wimbledon title he won in a five-set epic against Djokovic last year. Both he and Sinner respect the Serb, sure. But they don’t fear him.
Djokovic, meanwhile, confirmed on Saturday that he was skipping the Miami Open this week, an event he has won six times, saying: “At this stage of my career, I’m balancing my private and professional schedule.” A subsequent tweet from the tournament director, James Blake, suggested the Serb had opted to put his family first.
That is entirely understandable. Indeed, it is admirable. It also gives him more time to regroup and stoke up the competitive fires again. Serial Djokovic watchers will remember that after he completed a career grand slam by winning the French Open in 2016, he admitted he lost motivation. He did not win a major title for the next two years. No doubt the sting of the Nardi defeat will stir him up again.
Whatever happens next, we can say this for certain: watching tennis’s old mongoose trying to outwit and outhit the younger generation, looking for one more grand slam title for the road, will make this year’s French Open and Wimbledon even more compelling than usual.
Toni Nadal has likened the iconic tennis rivalry shared by his nephew Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, to the dynamic between football legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The renowned coach claimed Nadal is comparable to Ronaldo, while Federer is like Messi, but feels there are “more differences” between the football icons than the tennis greats.
Federer and Nadal, who faced off 40 times over a 15-year period from 2004 to 2019, formed one of tennis’ greatest ever rivalries. Nadal holds a 24-16 advantage, having previously held 23-10 and 6-1 leads, while Federer won six of the pair’s last seven encounters.
The Spaniard has won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, with his most recent coming at the 2022 French Open, while Federer — who retired in 2022 — won his 20th and final major at the 2018 Australian Open. The duo shared the court as a doubles team for Federer’s final match at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.
Ronaldo and Messi, who are widely regarded as two of the greatest footballers in history, were the leading stars in the sport throughout the 2010s decade. At their peaks, Ronaldo and Messi starred for Spanish giants and fierce rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
In an interview with Super Deportivo Radio, Toni Nadal explained why he feels the two sporting rivalries are comparable, while arguing there is a key difference.
“It is comparable with the Nadal-Federer rivalry, only that Rafa can do the same thing that Federer does, while Cristiano cannot do what Messi does,” said the Mallorcan.
“It is comparable in duration. From Messi to Cristiano there are more differences than from Rafael to Federer. Being Cristiano an excellent footballer, I think Messi has almost no comparison with anyone.
“Federer is an incredible player for me. What he has done and achieved. What I saw him do on a tennis court I have not seen anyone do. We could say that Federer has been Messi. Rafael has a different, but very high, talent. He is probably the player who has hit the best in a bad position.
“It is true that my nephew does not have the technical excellence or elegance that Federer may have, but Rafael does the same thing that Federer does, although Cristiano cannot do the same thing that Messi does.
“Cristiano is very good, but he does not have the ability to do the dribbles that he did or that Messi has done throughout his career. In the case of my nephew, in a different way, he is able to do the shots that Federer does.
“Today we live in a world where it is very difficult to tell people the reality. Frustration comes from a lack of spirit, an exaggerated search for immediacy and not facing reality, and a personal overvaluation.
“Messi lost five Ballon d’Ors with Cristiano Ronaldo. The best in history also had setbacks, but the difference is that Messi’s frustration did not prevent him from advancing in his career.”
Toni Nadal coached his nephew Rafael Nadal from his childhood until 2017, helping him win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles. He is the director of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca and has also been working with ATP player Felix Auger-Aliassime since 2021.
British tennis star Emma Raducanu is still looking to find back her rhythm and confidence after missing out most of the 2023 season due to surgeries on both wrists and one ankle. However, her performance against Aryna Sabalenka in the R32 of the Indian Wells forced the world number 2 to heap praise on the 21YO. Now, American tennis legend Martina Navratilova has come up with a bizarre take on Raducanu’s US Open glory.
Emma Raducanu made the headlines by winning the 2021 US Open at the age of just 18. But after that, there have been a series of failures, injuries, and frequent changes in her coaching team. This has resulted in a drastic fall in her performance curve. Martina Navratilova says it was a mix of good and bad news for the Brit in the years since her stellar victory at the US Open.
‘It wasn’t a fluke’ – Martina Navratilova on Emma Raducanu’s journey so far
Emma Raducanu is still yet to defeat a Top 10 opponent in her career. Martina Navratilova recently gave an interview to Gigi Salmon on Sky Sports. In the interview, she stated enormous pressure to be one of the reasons for Raducanu’s downfall. “It was amazing when she won but it’s become a handicap because the expectations have gone sky-high,“ said Martina Navratilova.
She further went on to add, “It wasn’t a fluke because Emma has got that level. It wasn’t just she played great tennis and then all of a sudden she can’t play. But the pressure that’s been on her since then – particularly being a Brit – you can’t get away from it.“ Navratilova feels it to be a big burden to carry and hopes Emma Raducanu will soon make her way back to the top level yet again. But for that, she needs to stay fit.
The tennis legend said that winning matches will boost her confidence for the rest of the season. “It’s a nasty Catch-22 where you can win with confidence but you can’t have confidence without winning,“ added Navratilova. But what does Emma Raducanu think about her target for the 2024 season?
‘Patience is a big thing’ – Raducanu
Emma Raducanu is currently placed at the 288 spot in the women’s singles ranking. So the first target for her would surely be to get into the Top 100. She previously said, “If you would have said to me last year, Emma, what is your goal for the year? I’d be like, Okay, I want to win one round in the main draw of a Grand Slam.”
She reached the second round at the AO this year and she believes that this could’ve been a really big thing to even think for her last year. Especially after what she had gone through over the past few months.
She further added, “Yeah, what might be a poor result now in people’s eyes to me would have been a positive thing. I think I need to keep reminding yourself of that, not getting sucked in, I feel like now people are starting to realize it’s going to take some time for her to settle in. I feel like patience is a big thing.”
Emma Raducanu believes if she somehow manages to settle in and go through all these highs and lows, she’ll definitely find some sort of equilibrium to carry forward for the rest of the season. What are your thoughts on her journey so far?
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