Just playing a full season’s tennis would be an achievement for Emma Raducanu next season, as the anniversary of her stunning US Open triumph comes around once more. That’s according to Tim Henman, who will return to Sky Sports as a pundit for the final Grand Slam of the season when the New York event gets underway on August 28.
But since then, a career that should be blossoming has been dogged by indifferent form and a rotten run of injuries as a string of coaches have come and gone.
Raducanu has endured two wrist surgeries and another on her ankle over the summer, resulting in a four-month spell on the sidelines that has seen the Brit drop to 152 in the world rankings.
She is likely to be in attendance at Flushing Meadows later this month after one of her major sponsors, Tiffany, signed a new multi-million-pound deal to continue supplying trophies for the US Open.
Her expected appearance in New York may only be as a spectator on this occasion, but former Wimbledon favourite Henman has warned Raducanu and fans of the Brit that just playing a full tour schedule next year will be an achievement in itself for the 20-year-old as he tempered expectations.
