Emma Raducanu a 'more effective' character for tennis than Nick Kyrgios

Emma Raducanu has been heralded as an "effective" character in women's tennis by a retired pro. Former world No 4 Anke Huber admitted that a personality like Nick Kyrgios wasn't needed to attract fans to the WTA Tour, admitting the 19-year-old Brit was better for representation of the sport.

Kyrgios has been embroiled in controversy recently after outbursts in Indian Wells and Miami. The current world No 94 threw a racket in frustration when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the Californian desert which narrowly missed a ball boy and later apologised to the ball kid in question, gifting him a racket.

He then earned himself two code violations in a fiery last-16 match in Miami where he fumed at the court conditions and umpire Carlos Bernardes, getting a point and game penalty during his loss to Jannik Sinner. The Aussie was fined £46,000 in the space of one week for both incidents but his controversial nature has been described as "good for the sport".

When asked whether the women's tour would benefit from a similar character, 12-time title winner Huber admitted that she thought Kyrgios' behaviour was a "ploy" to draw attention. "Kyrgios pulls off this show, like McEnroe before, often on purpose," she told Eurosport Germany. "It's his ploy to keep the conversation going."

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While the 1996 Australian Open runner-up thought the 26-year-old was a compelling figure, she pointed at Raducanu as the type of person beneficial to women's tennis. "I don't know if you should want that for women's tennis," Huber continued. "Granted, it makes things more interesting. But I think an Emma Raducanu is more effective in women's tennis."

Raducanu became an overnight