Emma Raducanu fired Australian Open warning by Andy Murray's mum
JUDY MURRAY has warned Emma Raducanu of the "steep learning curve" ahead of her as she adjusts to life on the pro tennis tour full-time.
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Emma Raducanu must adjust to being a "target" in her first full season on the WTA Tour. The 19-year-old made history when she became the first-ever qualifier to win a Grand Slam at the US Open in September. Judy Murray has now warned Raducanu of the "steep leaning curve" ahead after she went from an unknown prospect outside the world's top 300 to the world's top 20 within a matter of months.
Raducanu completed the unprecedented earlier this year when she arrived in New York for the US Open qualifying event full of confidence off the back of reaching a new career-high of world No 150.
Then aged just 18, she came through three rounds of qualifying and seven main draw matches without dropping a set, ending her three weeks in Flushing Meadows as a Grand Slam champion which made her the first qualifier in tennis history to win a Grand Slam, and she also became the first woman to lift the title on just her second appearance at Major level.
She shot up into the world's top 25 and became an overnight household name, attending the prestigious Met Gala and signing deals with Tiffany & Co and Dior in the weeks that followed.
Now sitting at a career-high ranking of No 19, Raducanu is gearing up for her first full year on the professional tennis tour and will be starting her season in Melbourne for the WTA 250 event before the season-opening Grand Slam, the Australian Open - the first time she has directly made it into a Grand Slam main draw, having previously received a wild card for Wimbledon while ranked world No 338, making the second week, before her US Open heroics.
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Ahead of her first season on the WTA Tour, Judy Murray has warned the young Brit of the challenges and distractions ahead, having guided Andy and Jamie Murray to Grand Slam success in singles and doubles respectively.
"The next 10 months will be completely different to anything she has experienced in her fledgling albeit incredibly exciting career," she wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
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The tennis coach and mother to former world No 1 Andy Murray thought that the extra demands would also be a "major distraction" for Raducanu, who became the first female winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 15 years on Sunday.
She continued: "Add to that the expectation and demands of fans, media, sponsors and agents and you can see how her life has changed out of sight since winning the US Open."
Looking to the experience Andy Murray had - making his Wimbledon debut as a wildcard ranked outside the world's top 300 much like Raducanu did - Judy admitted that it was a difficult adjustment.
She said: "I know what Andy went through as a young player getting to grips with the life and business of the tour. In his last junior year he finished at 64 in the ATP rankings, having played at Wimbledon that year on a wild card, ranked around 350.
"It’s a steep and tricky learning curve and growing up in public isn’t easy. And it’s not just the player who has to adapt to being in the spotlight, your friends and family do too.
"When you’re the ‘next big thing’ everyone wants a piece of you and the opportunities and requests have to be carefully managed so they don’t become a major distraction and negatively impact on the performances on court.