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Emma Raducanu will only become stronger and has the potential to break into the top 10, according to former world No 1 Simona Halep; the Romanian says: “She has a bright future and for sure she will be one of the best players in the world”
By Raz Mirza
Last Updated: 01/11/21 1:13pm
Simona Halep says Britain should cherish the success of Emma Raducanu
Former world No 1 Simona Halep says Britain should cherish Emma Raducanu’s success and claims the US Open champion will eventually become “one of the best players in the world”.
The 18-year-old became the first British woman to win a singles Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade’s 1977 Wimbledon triumph with her stunning run from qualifying to victory at the US Open in the summer
Raducanu broke her duck on the main women’s tour at the Transylvanian Open last week before bowing out at the quarter-final stage.
Congratulations to Anett on an incredible tournament. I am happy you qualified for the WTA Finals after all your hard work these past few weeks and wish you good luck there!
To the organizers of the @TransylvaniaOpn, thank you for putting on a beautiful event, for all your hard pic.twitter.com/Iun39bc0bq
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) October 31, 2021
Speaking before her run to the final, where she finished as runner-up to Anett Kontaveit, two-time Grand Slam winner, Halep believes the world No 21 has everything in the locker to become a top-10 player.
“What she achieved is unbelievable and it’s all credit to her because she played so well and she played so many matches. I think her mentality was very strong and also her game. She showed great tennis, very fast, very close to the baseline and I think her movement was also great,” said the Romanian star.
“She’s already achieved the Grand Slam title so she’s able to achieve everything. She now has the experience of winning the biggest tournament in tennis so I think she can easily make the top 10 and I think sooner than everyone else thinks because she’s already close to that.
“She has a bright future and for sure she will be one of the best players in the world.”
Raducanu was playing in just her fourth Tour-level tournament in Cluj, so she is still a novice learning her way, albeit with a sizeable piece of silverware in her trophy cabinet.
Halep feels Britain should celebrate the teenager’s amazing success in New York because it will take time for her to adjust to the rigours of the WTA Tour.
She added: “The pressure is not great for a player, even if she’s so young she feels the pressure is normal, everybody does. You guys better enjoy her results, her tennis, the way she is, because she’s super nice, and wait for her to grow up at this level because she just jumped after doing something great.
“She will probably need some time to see how it is every week and then she will become much stronger.”
Raducanu plans to take a week off before contesting the Linz Open and then another week off to “reset and get mentally and physically fresh for a tough pre-season”.
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