Emma Raducanu is 'better now' than when she won US Open, claims Kim Clijsters ahead of tennis Grand Slam

Emma Raducanu is playing “better” tennis now than she was when she won last year’s US Open, according to Eurosport tennis expert Kim Clijsters. The teenage sensation incredibly beat Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3 in last year’s final, coming through 10 matches as a qualifier without dropping a set, but has since experienced a dip in form and struggled to progress further than the second round in each of the three Grand Slams played this year. Ad Raducanu most recently fell short at the Cincinnati Open in the last 16 to Jessica Pegula, following her first round win over Serena Williams, after exiting earlier at the Canadian and Citi Opens.

US OpenThe key ingredients to Raducanu repeating her US Open success7 HOURS AGO Clijsters, though, believes the 19-year-old has improved since her US Open victory, and despite her form in 2022 believes she has “matured”. “She's already done a lot more leading up to the US Open this year than she did last year,” Clijsters said when asked if Raducanu has endured a reality check. “She's beaten some really good players in the lead up tournaments, she is maturing as a tennis player.

“I think her tennis is better now than it was when she won the US Open, so those are all really good things. “Again, it comes down to when you have such a life changing experience happen to you — and I'm not talking about what happens on the court — but everything else that gets that gets added to that. Clijsters explained “big changes” can take time for players to get used to, suggesting Raducanu is still getting used to being a Grand Slam champion.