Emma Raducanu’s rapid rise in tennis has caught the attention of many with former world No.5, Daniela Hantuchova, tipping the youngster for Grand Slam glory in the future.
The 18-year-old is playing in only her second major main draw this week at the US Open. After coming through three rounds of qualifying, Raducanu defeated Switzerland’s Stefanie Vogele in straight sets in the first round on Monday. Continuing what has been a breakthrough season for the Brit who reached the fourth round of Wimbledon as a wildcard and more recently finished runner-up at a WTA 125K tournament in Chicago.
Shooting up the world rankings from 345 in January to a current career-high of 150, Raducanu is attracting a rapidly growing fan base with Hantuchova being one of them. Working for Amazon Prime during this year’s US Open, the Slovakian has hailed the rising star by suggesting her technique is better than that of another promising youngster – Coco Gauff.
“Emma has it all, whatever it takes to become not only a top-ten player but I believe also a grand-slam champion,” The Telegraph quoted Hantuchova as saying on Amazon Prime. “There is not one part of her game where I would say ‘This needs to improve.’ Unlike Coco Gauff, where I feel like technically she needs to improve a lot of things. Emma is ahead.
“Technically there are no mistakes but also the mental strength she showed today, that is something very special,” she added.
Hantuchova, who won seven WTA titles during her career, believes Raducanu has a unique ability to connect with fans in the sport which will help her in the future. On social media, she currently has an Instagram following of around 415,000 people and 145,000 followers on Twitter.
“She really connects to the crowd. She is going to be able to gain a lot of energy from the fans all around the world. As soon as she smiles everyone is going to be on her side. We saw it today (Monday), playing on a big court for the first time in America, everyone is trying to get photos with her. I can’t even imagine the future that she has in front of her.” The former Slovakian player commented.
On the court, Raducanu will next play China’s Zhang Shuai on Thursday who she lost to in straight sets at the Silicon Valley Classic a couple of weeks ago. Nevertheless, she is high in confidence.
“I have played four matches at the US Open and I’m feeling very comfortable here in the conditions, I feel I have acclimatised well due to the few weeks I have had in the States,” Raducanu said of her current form.
