She was the player Pat Cash predicted would win a Grand Slam but was forced to retire at just 28-years-old

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Pat Cash knows what it takes to win a Grand Slam title, having lifted the Wimbledon title in 1987.

Cash beat Ivan Lendl, who is now coaching Hubert Hurkacz, to win what turned out to be the only major title of his career.

A series of different injuries meant that Cash won only two more ATP singles titles in his career, with his last coming in Hong Kong.

Nowadays the charismatic Australian works as a pundit, with Cash offering his views on current tennis like he did when talent spotting an up-and-coming WTA talent in 2013.

Pat Cash predicts Laura Robson to win a major before being forced into early retirement

Laura Robson was a very big prospect in 2008, after she became the first British player to win the Wimbledon girls title in 34 years.

Robson played her first full year on the WTA Tour in 2012, with the 18-year-old making her breakthrough at the US Open by reaching the fourth round, beating ninth seed Li Na in the process.

The teenager would continue her momentum just weeks after her US Open run, becoming the first British player to reach a WTA final in 22 years at the Guangzhou Open.

Another highlight of her 2012 season came at the London Olympics, with Robson partnering Andy Murray in the mixed doubles event and winning a silver medal.

Despite winning the junior title, Robson would not make her breakthrough at the senior Wimbledon tournament until her fifth main draw appearance in 2013.

World number 38 Robson would begin her campaign with a straight sets victory over 10th seed and 2012 quarter-finalist Maria Kirilenko in-front of her home crowd on No.1 Court.

There was a big reaction to this performance from Robson, including from former Wimbledon champion Cash, who predicted that the then 19-year-old would go onto become a top five ranked player and would win a major title of her own.

“Just watched a future top 5 and i think a slam winner Laura Robson crush 10th seed Kirilenko,” Cash said on X (previously known as Twitter).

Robson would reach a career-high ranking of world number 27 after Wimbledon that year, but what Cash did not know at this point was that she would only win two more Grand Slam matches in her career.

After a successful 2013 season, disaster struck for Robson when a left wrist injury started to cause her problems.

Following her first round loss at the Australian Open, Robson would undergo wrist surgery in April and would not play another match that year.

Robson would not return until June 2015, with her struggles with form and fitness continuing.

Robson would mostly play lower level ITF matches from this point and would win only one more WTA main draw match.

A hip injury also started to hamper Robson and she would then undergo another surgery in July 2018.

Robson would try and make a return in 2019, but would retire 6-0 down in her match against compatriot Harriet Dart at an ITF tournament in Sunderland.

Despite attempting to make a further comeback, Robson would retire three years later in May 2022, aged just 28.

When announcing her retirement in an interview with BBC Sport, Robson admitted that she had some bittersweet feelings about saying goodbye to the sport.

“I think I’m always going to have the feeling that I could have done more, unfortunately,” Robson said at the time. “I feel like if I had just had another year or two of being healthy, I don’t know what I could have achieved.

“But I’m really proud of the Olympics, of playing Fed Cup – playing for your country in any way was always one of my favourite weeks of the year – and I think playing Wimbledon and the US Open the time that I did well, I will have those memories forever.”

What is Laura Robson doing in 2025?

Although Robson’s career did not go how she wanted it and how many expected it to, the Brit has made the most of her early retirement.

These days, she spends most of her time working as a pundit and commentator for the likes of Sky Sports, BBC and Eurosport.

This includes Robson voicing her opinion on Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper and many other high-profile players.

Not only has Robson been working in the media, but she also became the youngest tournament director in tennis.

Robson directed the Nottingham Open in both 2023 and 2024, but in 2025 will be the tournament director of the WTA tournament returning to Queen’s Club.

Queen’s will feature Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Barbora Krejcikova and Katie Boulter, as it returns to the WTA calendar for the first time in 52 years.