Following a challenging grass-court swing, the British number one attempted to lower expectations heading into her home Grand Slam.
The belief has already returned.
Raducanu advanced to the round of 32 for the third time in her four SW19 appearances on Wednesday after defeating 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Her confident performance prepared her well for Friday’s highly anticipated third-round matchup with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
“I think that was one of the best matches I’ve played in a long time, which I’m very proud of,” the 22-year-old World No. 40 player stated.
“At the same time, I didn’t feel like I was doing anything outrageous, which gives me a lot of confidence.”
Raducanu stated before to the start of the event that she did not “truthfully expect much” from herself over the next two weeks.
Raducanu acknowledged that she needed to have her “head in the game” for the start of Wimbledon after losing to Australian teenager Maya Joint in Eastbourne last week.
She revealed that she had been dealing with persistent back pain during the off-season and that she had some “pretty bad” personal news that she wanted to keep hidden.
However, the 2021 US Open winner advanced to the next phase with a commanding victory over Vondrousova after surviving a challenging opening match against British teenager Mimi Xu.
“That’s quite a statement that Emma has put out,” observed Annabel Croft, a former British number one who was talking about the match for BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I genuinely don’t believe she could be hitting the ball any better. She was doing it mediocrely.
Since Sabalenka will be competing against Raducanu at her best, I believe that would be really concerning for her.
“If Raducanu can play anything close to that level again, although she may not be allowed to because Sabalenka will bring a lot of power, she will give the world number one a run for her money.”
The weapons she wants to create
Naturally, Raducanu’s game, which enables her to thrive on the grass, is what makes her so successful at Wimbledon.
One of her main strengths is her athleticism and smooth mobility on the faster surface, which enables her to position herself to add the extra ferocity she wants to her shots.
She has been working especially hard with coach Mark Petchey to improve her forehand skills in addition to her serve.
Raducanu used her backhand skill to stay patient during the rallies against Vondrousova. After neutralizing the variety of her increasingly irritated opponent, she was able to launch additional attacks.
Her forehand received an 8.2 rating from Wimbledon’s shot quality study, which rates a player’s important shots on a scale of 1 to 10 depending on speed, spin, depth, and impact.
That is significantly higher than the women’s draw average of 7.0.
“I think what’s going to be the real difference for me to get up to the top [of the rankings] is going to be the aggressive side,” Raducanu stated.
“I believe that I should start the point and take more measured chances and shots. You really need a weapon both on serve and from the back when you’re up against the top girls.
The heart is at home.
Raducanu has cut a lot more calm figure since adding Petchey back to her squad, which is giving her more freedom to play.
One of the main reasons she made development this season was having a close-knit and reliable group of people around her.
After a turbulent few months following her incredible US Open victory, Raducanu has returned to the top 40 in the world rankings.
Her attitude is being lifted by feeling “at home” at Wimbledon and spending time with friends, with whom she was spotted taking photographs on the balcony of the All England Club following her victory over Vondrousova.
“It’s awesome. All of my buddies are in one location. Raducanu, who made it to the fourth round in 2021 and 2024, continued, “They’ve been my rock through everything.”
“Last year, I followed a similar pattern. Since we are aware of how difficult it is to play on the tour week after week, I simply treasure these moments.
It’s really unique when we feel at home in this kind of setting.”
