11 July 2023 , 09:48
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Two-time Australian Open champ Victoria Azarenka has advised Emma Raducanu to trust a "very small circle" ahead of her comeback from injury.
Raducanu, 20, became a household name when she shocked tennis to win the US Open title in September 2021. Yet Brit has failed to win another title since then and has even admitted: "Sometimes I think to myself I wish I'd never won the US Open".
Raducanu is currently recovering from hand and ankle surgery but is expected to make her comeback within the next couple of months. The Grand Slam winner will be desperate to prove she isn't a "one-hit wonder", as tennis legend John McEnroe has feared.
McEnroe has backed Raducanu to bounce back from her injury woes, although he admits "it's not going to be easy". Azarenka, who was booed at Wimbledon, is also confident Raducanu can enjoy a successful career but wants her to avoid 'fake' people.
"When Emma won the US Open, what I noticed at that time was that everybody latched onto her as if she was their friend, and I was thinking that they probably didn’t even know her a month ago," Azarenka told William Hill’s podcast Up Front with Simon Jordan.
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"In a way, it didn’t feel very real. It’s sad to hear her say that sometimes she wishes she had never won the US Open, but I think this is a very momentary feeling because if you said to her 'Okay, we’ll take it away and you can carry on’, I’m not sure she would agree to that.
"I think the advice I would have given her is that you should not forget the people who drove you to that moment and who helped you get there. From my experience, I would say she needs to have a very small circle and a very solid one."
Raducanu has received plenty of advice since her US Open triumph, with McEnroe offering his opinion in June. Speaking to Eurosport, he said: "Emma doesn't want to be a one-hit wonder. Whenever you have two or three surgeries you have to be concerned.
"She is young enough to be able to come back obviously and you want her to be able to. You're pulling for her. You can feel the stress she has been under. It would be a shame if she wasn't around. I hope she comes back and it will be a road back. It's not going to be easy. Not until the end of the year at least I guess. It would be nice to have her in the mix."
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Azarenka also believes Raducanu has struggled to deal with fame since her breakthrough in 2021. As well as her US Open triumph, the youngster also reached the second week of Wimbledon to dominate the back pages.
Azarenka added: "When Emma won the US Open, the feeling was one of ecstasy and people being so happy for her. Now that she is down, people are jumping on her and those negative waves are hard to handle.
"When you’re in the moment, you don’t realise what’s going on around you, and I don’t think she realised how big she became and how huge the moment was. Everybody wanted to be a part of it."
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