Emma Raducanu is finally able to see coils meadows as a “happy place” four years after her open victory of the US.
The 22-year-old reached one of the large modern sporting triumphs by winning the title as a qualification in 2021, but in the three years because she did not succeed in winning a single game there.
Last year she arrived insufficiently prepared and was emotional after she was lost to Sofia Kenin, but Raducanu all smiled when she discussed her last campaign in New York, which will start on Sunday against the Japanese qualifying match anda Shibahara.
“I really had trouble when I returned in 2022,” said Raducanu. “I didn’t like to come back here. I think it’s the first time that I have the feeling that I can come back to the US open and really enjoy the memories I have made here and I am proud of it and see it as a happy place.”
For the first time in her career, Raducanu has found consistency in performance and results, avoiding injury problems and climbing back to the edge of the top 30 in the world.
She is again a clear British number 1 and has a new full -time coach in her corner in experienced Spaniard Francisco Roig, who spent almost two decades in the Rafael Nadal camp.
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They only worked together in one tournament, last week Cincinnati Open, where Raducanu world number one Aryna Sabalenka Pushed all the way to a decisive tie-break.
Raducanu had been successful with Mark Petchey in recent months, but the temporary obligations of the former British number one meant that he could not play the role full -time.
A process with Roig na Wimbledon, where Raducanu also just briefly came to Sabalenka in round three, turned out to be successful and she is happy with how it went so far.
“Mark has helped me so much in recent months, but we always knew it would be difficult to keep things through with his commitments and everything,” she said.
“After Wimbledon it was a pretty good match with Aryna. I think a lot of people watched it. I think it helped my business, so I am happy with that. I wanted to come and know the American swing that I had someone.
“We work a lot on the field and put many hours in it. He also likes to keep time on the court. But we find a good balance. It is not only serious.
“The time also passes so quickly, what a good sign is when you spend time with someone. In general, I think I am just working on the quality of my photos and they improve them. So I think things are going pretty well so far, but I certainly need more time.”
Roig worked as the second coach of Nadal next to his uncle Toni and then Carlos Moya, and even played double with the Spaniard.
Raducanu has not yet learned too much about Roig’s time with Nadal, but feels all the advantage of his experience.
“It’s always nice when someone is in the area for so long, especially with someone like Rafa,” she said.
“You can see that when we are at these big events, at these big competitions or tournaments with many people, there is a large element of calm certainty in the competitions. There is no stress or panic, which certainly rubs me.
“I generally feel, in certain situations in the practice court, even certain photos, if things don’t go well and don’t go perfectly, I can just rely more on my game.”
Raducanu can never go back to that carefree summer of 2021, but with stability a certain lightness has come again.
“I feel in a certain way in the same way in terms of terms of just enjoying my tennis, enjoying practicing, enjoying competing and getting better,” she said.
“But I am just more aware of everything that is possible. When I won in ’21, I didn’t know, I think, about this world of potential negativity and people bringing down players.
“I would say that it has struck me a lot in recent years. It still gets me sure from time to time, but in general I think I can enjoy what I do from day to day. I have good people in the area, so I’m just happy that I am in this place with my tennis.”
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