Emma Raducanu seems to be finding her rhythm once again, and her strategic calendar shake-up in 2025 appears to be bearing fruit. Tennis pundits like Tim Henman and Marion Bartoli have taken note, highlighting her progress as a significant upturn following a string of inconsistent performances earlier in the season. What’s especially encouraging is the timing of this revival — right before the physically demanding clay-court stretch.
Unlike previous years where her appearances were sparse, Raducanu is steadily increasing her on-court presence. She’s already participated in seven events this season — more than half of the total she managed in all of 2024. If she maintains this pace, she’s on track to surpass her personal best of 18 tournaments in a single year, set back in 2022. That kind of volume suggests not just improved physical conditioning, but also a renewed appetite for competition.
The year kicked off on a promising note with Raducanu advancing to the third round of the Australian Open. However, that momentum didn’t last long. She faced a trio of early exits in her next events — a frustrating stretch for any player trying to find form. That skid was finally broken at the Dubai Tennis Championships, though the tournament brought mixed emotions. In a second-round clash with Karolina Muchova, Raducanu’s performance was overshadowed by a troubling off-court incident — a man displaying “fixated” behavior had to be removed from the stands, disrupting the atmosphere of an already tough match.
Her dip in form continued with a surprise opening-round loss to Moyoko Uchijima at Indian Wells, but something shifted when she stepped onto the courts in Miami. There, she delivered one of her most confident runs in recent memory, notching up wins against top-tier opponents — including eighth seed Emma Navarro and 17th seed Amanda Anisimova — en route to the quarter-finals.
For Tim Henman, a former world No. 4, the breakthrough was crystal clear. He pinpoints the Navarro win as a defining moment:
“It’s been great that she’s competed a lot more this year after Australia. She’s played three or four tournaments but the results haven’t been there,” he explained.
“But I think that when you’re putting in that hard work in the gym with a physical trainer, I thought her movement both sort of offensively and defensively looked fantastic.
The turning point was the Emma Navarro match. I think to beat a top-10 player would have given her a lot of confidence. The four wins she had bode well moving forward. So many positives for her to take on from Miami.”
Although her Miami campaign came to an end in the quarter-finals at the hands of fourth seed Jessica Pegula, the match was anything but one-sided. Raducanu pushed the American to three sets, proving that she could hold her own even against the upper echelon of the WTA Tour.
Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, was also quick to acknowledge the strides Raducanu has made — particularly in terms of her fitness and mental game. The Frenchwoman sees similarities between this version of Raducanu and the fearless competitor who stunned the tennis world with her US Open win in 2021.
“Even against Pegula, it was such a close match. Yes, she ended up losing it at the end, but it’s not like she got thrashed out of the court,” Bartoli remarked.
“When you’re capable of reproducing those kind of qualities of tennis as well, that shows you that physically you’re ready, mentally you’re ready as well.
From my point of view, coming back after what happened in Dubai, being able to regroup, get herself going and put aside the disappointment from Indian Wells when it didn’t really go her way, she still kept on putting the hard work and believing into what she’s doing.”
Bartoli also emphasized that Raducanu’s footwork and physical resilience were signs she’s closing in on peak form again.
“And as Tim was mentioning, the way she’s been moving on the court, you really feel physically she has been coming back close to probably her best level. That being at the US Open, the year she won, and she’s very close to it.”
Looking ahead, the transition to clay offers both a test and an opportunity. With longer rallies and grueling baseline exchanges, fitness becomes non-negotiable. That makes Raducanu’s recent uptick in physicality and match sharpness all the more vital.
“She’s building some momentum ahead of the clay, where the rally will be extended, and you want to be physically ready for that,” Bartoli added.
“So being able to just get that last hard-core tournament in Miami with some good vibes, with some positives to take away, repetitively as well, it’s really positive.”
Raducanu’s journey is far from over, but if her Miami run is any indication, she’s stepping into this next phase of the season with a stronger game, a tougher mindset, and a clearer path forward. The clay court grind awaits, and Raducanu finally looks ready to roll up her sleeves and dig in.