Tennis physio Kieron Vorster has blasted Emma Raducanu for the ‘mind-blowing decision’ of limiting her calendar as she continues to struggle for consistency.
The 21-year-old struggled at the US Open at the end of August and was sent crashing out of the competition in the first round.
Raducanu then performed well at the Asia Open but was forced to withdraw through injury, much to her frustration, while she’s since pulled out of the China Open.
The tennis star’s calendar has come under scrutiny in recent months, particularly after her failure to make it to the second round of the US Open.
Tennis physio Kieron Vorster has blasted Emma Raducanu for the ‘mind-blowing decision’ of limiting her calendar as she continues to struggle for consistency
REUTERS
Raducanu has been cautious with her schedule, with some feeling she’s not playing anywhere near enough.
And Vorster, who has worked with the likes of Andy Murray and Dan Evans over the years, believes it is ‘mind-blowing’ that she’s limited her time on the court.
“She just doesn’t play enough matches,” he told the Daily Mail.
“I’ve seen her train and she trains hard, she works hard, there’s no doubting that.
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“But you can train as hard as you like — if you don’t have that match fitness, your body is not hardened and robust enough to play match after match after match.
“You can practice until you’re blue in the face but you can’t replicate match conditions, that intensity and nerves when you’re 4-4 in the third serving at 0-30.”
Vorster then expressed a belief that Raducanu may not play until the Australian Open in January, adding: “She plays an abbreviated clay court season, because she’s got a long grass court season and hard court season coming up and she doesn’t want to be burnt out or get injured.
“Then she was hurt against Lulu Sun in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, then plays one hard court event, goes to the US Open undercooked and loses first round.
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“Now she’s pulled out of Asia, is that going to be all of a sudden, ‘I’m taking it off till the end of the year, so I get ready for Australia,’ and then the cycle starts again.
“I think there could potentially be a lot of ‘yes’ people around her, instead of people telling her what she doesn’t want to hear, ‘You know what, Emma, you need to get out there and play’.
“She’s a good player. That’s not the issue. But this abbreviated schedule is just mind-blowing.
“There’s too many people around her. She’s got a guy from IMG (the agency who represent her) travelling with her every single week.
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“The tennis world’s gone crazy: gone are the days where you just have your coach and your physical trainer.”
Raducanu, prior to her recent injury setback, indicated she’d play more.
And Vorster feels she needs a gruelling training camp to aid her on her journey back to the top of the tennis world once more.
“The first thing I would do is take her somewhere hot with no distractions and do a six-week training block,” he continued.
Emma Raducanu has been scrutinised by Kieron Vorster amid her difficulties over the past few months
PA
“Take away home comforts and luxuries. Do something different that will kick-start the year.
“You’ve only got to look at Andy Murray for somebody who made all the sacrifices year after year: train in the heat in Miami, come back for one, maybe two days for Christmas, then he’d be off again to Australia.”