Emma Raducanu has been sent spiralling out of the French Open by a rampant Iga Swiatek.
The Polish performer has won the last three Roland Garros titles, and based on the form she showed against Raducanu, she will take some stopping once again.
For the Great Britain performer, the remit right now is to stay fit on a consistent basis and try to get as many matches under her belt as possible.
Mark Petchey is the man in Raducanu’s corner right now, and if anyone can get her back to the form she showed when winning the US Open in 2021, it’s him.
After the 6-1, 6-2 defeat to Swiatek, Petchey has taken some of the media to task over a popular myth that keeps getting regurgitated about Raducanu.
Mark Petchey uses Daniil Medvedev to dispel Emma Raducanu myth
One of the things that Raducanu has to deal with is criticism of her levels of work and how much time she spends on the practice court.
Raducanu is desperately striving to stay fit, and if she can climb the rankings once more, she should avoid the likes of Swiatek in the earlier stages of Grand Slam events.
That will take time, however, with Petchey already making some subtle tweaks in a bid to get the Great British performer back to the level of performance she showed when winning at Flushing Meadows.
Petchey is growing tired of claims that Raducanu doesn’t work hard enough and has now used an interview with TNT Sports to vent his frustrations at such a concept.
He said: “The one thing that everybody knows is that we worked on her service motion over in Los Angeles. It is a longer motion. I think it has been better, but like any changes that you guys know, it takes a while to bed in, particularly when you go out on one of the biggest courts in the world, it may not fire as well.
“I didn’t actually think it was bad yesterday, obviously, at the start of the season, she was serving a lot of double faults.
“But you look at someone like Daniil Medvedev, he hasn’t won a tournament for two years, the game has changed, these balls have changed and for somebody like Emma to be able to move the ball, she has to find a way to be able to feel she can impact players like Coco, Sabalenka and Iga and that is obviously my job.
“If I am not good enough at it, in finding whether I can do it or somebody else can do it. Whether that’s changing the racket, we have changed the strings and put on more weight, but maybe there is an option there. But the game has changed that if you cannot move the ball, I think that will be something that will always be your limiting factor when I watch players like Sabalenka play.
“And I think Emma can get quicker again. I think obviously when you have been through what you have been through, there is an ability to get behind the ball a bit quicker and make something happen with it.
“But I am a little tired of hearing people say that she doesn’t work hard. I spent 10 months with her in 2020 and I have spent every day I can since Miami, and not once has she not put in a full day shift.
“Whether there are areas we can help her crystallise more gains in terms of fitness and tennis (maybe), but in terms of turning up every day and putting in a good shift, she has done it every time, so I would like to bury that myth where it belongs.”
Raducanu can now look forward to Wimbledon
Given what has already been achieved during her career, it’s easy to forget that Raducanu is still only 22-years-old.
Since winning the US Open, Raducanu has had surgery on both wrists and both ankles, which, for a tennis player, is far from ideal.
With Petchey now in her corner, there is a real sense, however, that she can begin to gain some form, stay fit and showcase the level of consistency required to climb the rankings.
Raducanu has never been beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon, and that tournament is one where she will always have plenty of support.
Crashing out of the French Open might not feel like a positive right now, but it does give her a good chance to get out on the grass and have a little more time to prepare for SW19.
Petchey is right to suggest that it’s a myth that she doesn’t work hard enough and the hope will be that he can use all of his knowledge to get Raducanu back to challenging for major titles once again.
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