Emma Raducanu to move into top 10 world rankings next month despite being dumped out of Wimbledon in second round
EMMA RADUCANU will become a top-10 player next month despite being dumped out of Wimbledon.
But Britain’s Golden Girl has been told to “raise her level” as she continues to negotiate life on the tennis tour.
Raducanu was beaten 6-3 6-3 by Caroline Garcia in the second round of SW19 on Centre Court on Wednesday evening.
However, the 19-year-old will move UP a place from world No11 when the tournament is over, due to a quirk in the rankings system.
There are no ranking points available at Wimbledon and players like Czech Karolina Pliskova - the 2021 losing finalist who was beaten by an emotional Katie Boulter on Thursday - will drop out of the top 10.
Raducanu will regroup now before heading to New York for the defence of her US Open crown.
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She is in danger of dropping out of the world's top 50 by mid-September if her form does not pick and she fails to defend her US Open crown.
The 19-year-old said that any pressure on her to win majors all the time was a “joke”.
Andrew Castle, the former British No1, was surprised she ditched coach Andrew Richardson after that epic Flushing Meadows success.
But he has warned the spotlight and intensity will only increase as she plays more tournaments.
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Castle, 53, said: “The obvious question is, would this be happening if Emma Raducanu had Andrew Richardson, who was alongside her for the US Open run?
“Would she benefit from having somebody permanent? Is she doing something right?
“How come she is making so many millions and there is a photoshoot every other day? There are all of these questions.
“I don’t know the answers, I don’t know if Emma Raducanu does either. She has only been around for a year.
“You don’t fluke a major. But at some point she will have to raise her level and ask herself some very serious questions.
“I wish her the very best of luck – I have no idea what will happen next in her career.
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“She has won a major, the pressure should be on those who haven’t won one. The attention will be there.
“With the success she has had, the spotlight was always going to be there. She seems to be handling it OK.”