Emma Raducanu

dodrade · Satellite level

RE: Emma Raducanu

Oakland2002 · All-time great

I think she is too good to play college tennis if she wants decent competition week in week out and in training, obviously the academic opportunities are immense and varied if you really are academic but the best player in the Ivy League for the next 4 years will be errrrr. Holly.

Another perspective worth considering is injuries, college may be a sensible option as the hours in practice are limited and College may take a little pressure off and allow the body to mature and settle down, allows a different perspective and keep options wide open even though you may be good enough wrists, knees and ankles may let you down. I played football with some (well at least 3) very good footballers in college rep football who had been offered pro football contracts but as teenagers had had a lot of injuries while in the pro/semi pro system, at the time I thought why didnt you, nothing to loose but now 2 have had joints replaced/major joint surgery in their early thirties but all have excellent and stimulating careers outside sport which they effectively had lots of fun with and still played at a decent level, but sidelined as the primary career choice at 18. Not a choice I ever had to make but I think they all got it spot on.

There does appear to be a glut of Brits at Stanford and Michaela Gordon could give her a game but shes done this year. They do however really look after their number 1 but only if they dominate the NCAA singles do they become a top 100 player. It is way off the support in terms of peers and players to train with she presently gets through the womens British tennis team meet ups.

Southern California and Texas Schools offer a mix of strong local competition outside of University. The University of Central Florida may get interesting given where they train but they are a member of the AAC not the SEC which is the strongest for conference play.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

dodrade wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
Yes, surely the fact that she hasn't signed up for US college shows that she is intending going pro?

I mean, yes, she might be aiming for UK unis, but that seems exceptionally unlikely. US college is an absolute slamdunk choice for a bright, excellent tennis player, with international connections. The fact that she's not doing that must mean she's going pro, surely.
Is it best to go pro early? During the Miami Open one of the commentators said John Isner's game didn't develop as much as as it should because he wasn't pushed hard enough by opponents on the College circuit.

Honestly, my comment wasn't really that she SHOULD go pro but that I was sure that she IS going pro (because she's not on any college lists)

As to whether she should, then, yes, I think she should.

Like Oakie, I think she's too good really, for college tennis.

As to the injury argument - the schedule for most college players is about as intense in terms of hours spent on tennis as it is for pros.

But athough for the 'lower' players, actually having physios on hand etc. etc. is a great boon, for Emma it's not so key because she'll still be receiving the top level funding from the LTA (about 70k) and access to everything at the NTC so she'll be looked after.

I'm also not sure that a player like Isner is really a good case study - being a man, and so exceptionally tall, his development path was always going to be different and rather special. Maybe he wasn't pushed hard enough. But maybe if he'd gone pro too early, he'd have dropped out. For instance, I'm pretty sure going to college would have done Oli Golding, say, a huge amount of good (he needed to grow up a little, get away from the LTA.....).

One option is to do one year, which some say is a good idea - you get the credits; in terms of growing up, it helps bridge the gap between school and adult life; you get to experience college so you don't feel as though you've completely lost out.

But I don't think she's doing that either.

However, I'd be curious to know if Jodie and Emily App (who both had very good US college offers) think they did the right thing....

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Tall athletes very well served in US college sport lots of expertise available in terms of strengthening and conditioning given it is the most competitive and primarily a nursery for the NBA

cya · Strong Club Player

Not that I know if she wants to, but its most unlikely that ER will be eligible for US college tennis. She's won quite a lot of money on the pro tour - sponsorships, prize money etc. and she would most likely have to return all that to be eligible as an amateur. Some of the girls that had previously considered going pro but decided at the last minute to go down the Uni route (maybe due to COVID) had to wait a semester redshirted on their college tennis teams while the NCAA sorted out their eligibility status e.g. Eleonaro Molinaro (Tennessee) , Draginja Vukovic (Oklahoma State) ; and I doubt these girls were ranked as high as Emma (or won as much prize money ).
Even on the men's side I seem to recall that Paul Jubb couldn't collect some of his winnings because of the eligibility status.
I think she's going to stick to the pro tour after her A level exams but then do any education remotely like Anton Matusevich is doing at the UCL BSc Econs & Statistics or the other pros on the tour. Having solid A level results would help her with that.

-- Edited by cya on Saturday 10th of April 2021 07:07:52 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Last thing I remember is you're allowed to take 10k pa and still be eligible. Might be out of date....
But, yes, good point, she'll have exceeded that.
Harriet been doing a degree too.
I think it's an excellent idea.

RedSquirrel · Satellite level

For those missing Emma, with A-levels out of the way, she has entered into a W15 in Israel from 10 May.

the addict · Tennis legend

Emma didn't appear for the tournament in Israel.

But I have just seen her name down for the British Tour events over the next two weeks, at the Connaught Club (wildcard) and Felixstowe (Direct acceptance).

dodrade · Satellite level

the addict wrote:
Emma didn't appear for the tournament in Israel.

But I have just seen her name down for the British Tour events over the next two weeks, at the Connaught Club (wildcard) and Felixstowe (Direct acceptance).

Surely that's a bit below her level?

indiana · Tennis legend

Certainly unless Emma is majorly umdercooked there could / should be a thrashing or two.

But maybe that is partly it, that she really does just need to get in some competitive tennis again to get herself going.

emmsie69 · ATP level

indiana wrote:
Certainly unless Emma is majorly umdercooked there could / should be a thrashing or two.

But maybe that is partly it, that she really does just need to get in some competitive tennis again to get herself going.

That withdrawal from Israel now looks like a smart move with the situation there. In the current circumstances it probaby does make sense to stay in the UK and use some low level events to get some form rather than travel further afield

flamingowings · All-time great

emmsie69 wrote:
indiana wrote:
Certainly unless Emma is majorly umdercooked there could / should be a thrashing or two.

But maybe that is partly it, that she really does just need to get in some competitive tennis again to get herself going.
That withdrawal from Israel now looks like a smart move with the situation there. In the current circumstances it probaby does make sense to stay in the UK and use some low level events to get some form rather than travel further afield

Especially as the (mainly home based) grass season is very close.

the addict · Tennis legend

It's worth noting that Connaught is outdoor hard, but Felixstowe is grass. Emma isn't on the entry list for North Oxford (grass) for 31/05-06/06, although entries haven't closed yet

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Not having played an official WTA/ITF match since Feb 2020, and having not been in the ProLeague events this year, Emma Raducanu is back in action at the British Tour Level 2 event at the Connaught Club.

Not that helpful for match practice so far as her first match was played in 4-game sets. And she won her second by a walkover.

In the semis toady she'll meet Katie Barnes or Alicia Dudeney. However, that'll presumably be 4 game sets too, as they've got three matches to do in a day.

the addict · Tennis legend

I'm surprised they managed any play at all. Alessia Popescu must have withdrawn overnight, as the other three QF are to be played this morning. Familiar names in the other half of the draw.