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Louise Thomas

Editor

Emma Raducanu has been praised for her ruthless approach to hiring and firing coaches by former British number one Johanna Konta.

Raducanu’s high turnover of coaches during her career is frequently used as a stick to beat her with but Konta believes it shows maturity and a clear-minded approach.

Citing Raducanu’s decision to miss the French Open and the Olympics, for which she has also received criticism, Konta said: “I think this is where Emma’s really good and very mature.

“She has a thought, she has a direction in mind, and she goes for it and she makes the decision, and I think that’s a very mature approach for a young player.

“And the same thing with her coaching team. I wish I did that more where I felt like a coaching situation wasn’t working, I didn’t wait for it to run its course because of how I thought the media would start speaking about it.

“I really admire her for her conviction in how she goes about deciding things for her career.”

Raducanu’s current coaching partnership with Nick Cavaday has endured since the beginning of the season, while at Wimbledon she also had Jane O’Donoghue, another former childhood coach who now works in finance, by her side.

Raducanu has made big strides over the grass-court season, posting her first two victories over top-10 players, climbing back into the top 100 and equalling her best run at Wimbledon.

While her fourth-round loss to qualifier Lulu Sun was undoubtedly disappointing, Konta believes it will help Raducanu in the long run.

“I think it’s great to see her again have four successive matches,” said Konta, who is playing in the invitational doubles at the All England Club.

“I think her last match against Sun was actually really positive. I don’t think we’ve had enough of a chance to see Emma in a situation where a lot of resistance has been put up against her.

“I think it was actually positive to see her in that space, especially how she dealt with that first set where Sun played really smart against her. To then see Emma really get stuck into that second set and turn the momentum a bit.

“Ultimately I think in a player’s career this is where you spend most of your time. You’re not going to spend your career just rolling through everybody.

“She will start winning these matches more and more and I think that’s where your deep-rooted confidence in you as a competitor and you as a player and what you can do out there, how you can problem solve, really comes from.

“The more she can be here, I think the more resilient a player it will make her and ultimately I think it will be what makes her a really, really great tennis player.”

Another interested watcher was British Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong, who believes Raducanu is heading in the right direction as she prepares to switch to the North American hard courts.

“I think it’s been a good grass-court season overall,” said Keothavong. “You’ve got to put things into perspective.

“Twelve months ago she wasn’t anywhere near this having had surgery so hopefully she can reflect and feel good and positive about where her tennis is and continue to build.

“We all know how well she plays on the hard courts and how much she enjoys the summer season out in the States. She’s on the right track.”

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