Mark Petchey has predicted that Emma Raducanu will win ‘big titles’ this year if she continues to makes improvements on her forehand shots.
British star Raducanu is currently gearing up for the Australian Open, with the first major tournament of 2025 getting started on January 12.
Large trophies are ‘coming her way’ if she can master her forehand like British legend Andy Murray, according to former coach Petchey.
Raducanu has not landed a second title since her 2021 US Open triumph but Petchey has played down talk of the Briton being a ‘one-slam wonder’.
Speaking ahead of the Australian Open, renowned tennis commentator and Murray’s ex-coach Petchey told Betway: ‘The forehand is always going to be your barometer and it’s always going to bring you the greatest success.
‘I know the service is something that she’s been working on trying to move the ball around to all corners of the box.
‘She was relatively predictable with where she was going to serve and the success rate that she was going to serve.
‘So, credit to Nick (Cavaday) and Emma that they’ve had a look at that and they’re starting to try and move things around in terms of trying to make sure that there’s an unpredictability to her game.
‘The forehand is always going to be the shot as it was for Andy (Murray), that is going to win the big titles that are coming her way.
‘The forehand is always going to be the shot as it was for Andy (Murray), that is going to win the big titles that are coming her way.
‘For me, that is something in the off-season that you want to make sure is in peak condition ahead of the Australian Open.
‘If there was one priority, it would be to make sure that that forehand is the devastating shot that it can be and as reliable as possible.
‘It needs to be multi-pronged. It can’t just be reliable and it can’t be just like a rally winner, it needs to be able to do both things at the same time.’
Quizzed about Raducanu’s critics, Petchey added: ‘She’s already getting called a one-slam wonder like she’s never going to win one again, and that must be incredibly difficult to deal with.
‘There is so much more to her personality, and she has so many other interests which people don’t realise. People love to take pot shots at her but there’s a lot more to her than just being a tennis player.
‘She’s not arrogant, but you’ve got to be confident. You’ve got to believe in yourself to exist and survive. Let alone thrive. Tennis is a ruthless hostile environment where you have at a grand slam, 127 other players who absolutely want to beat your brains out.
‘They want the same dream that you’re fighting for, the same trophy and only one person is going to put a pair of hands on that silverware at the end of it. So, if you don’t back yourself, no one else is going to back you.’
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