While it’s been two years since Emma Raducanu stunned the tennis world at Flushing Meadows, ten years have passed since another British teenager seemed headed for big things.
In 2013, 19-year-old Laura Robson advanced to the third round or better at three Grand Slams, including New York, defeating the likes of Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia.
That put her in the top 30 in the world before a succession of wrist and hip injuries wiped out a rare talent that had seen her win the Wimbledon juniors at the age of fourteen.
The experience gives her additional perspective on Raducanu and Andy Murray’s physical struggles. She remains optimistic about the former and marvels at how the latter has carried on to the point where he just missed out on a placement at the upcoming US Open.
Unlike Raducanu, Robson is in New York where she will be working on Sky Sports’ relaunched tennis coverage. Being represented by the same management company, she has some insight into the 2021 champion, who was photographed training in China while visiting relatives.
Laura Robson retired from tennis at the age of 28 and will cover the US Open for Sky Sports
Robson won Junior Wimbledon and a British Olympic silver medal during her playing career
The former tennis star has talked all about Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray
“I heard she’s trying to come back for Asian swing after the US Open,” says Robson. Hopefully that works out, but you almost don’t want to put a date on it because then there will inevitably be a few setbacks along the way, as always with rehab.
“I think it would probably be really nice for her to get back into the routine a bit. The progression of mini reds and sponge balls is quite fast. So you know, I think she’s probably pretty busy already.”
As a young woman, Robson couldn’t have the kind of surgery that saved Murray’s career, and she’s been a fascinated — and reflective — observer of how he managed to keep going. Ten years ago was the pinnacle for her.
‘My hip never healed, so I’m still working on it every day. I don’t think you ever go a day without checking your body. It’s a good day if you don’t feel it, but more often than not, you will feel it and it’s just something you accept. I really struggled with it because it was so temperamental for me.
‘I overplayed after the US Open (2013). I felt really exhausted and went to Asia and did the whole series of tournaments there, but at the end of the year I was completely shattered. So it wasn’t something I was aware of at the time.
“You think, ‘Oh, this is how I should feel’.” Maybe I could have been smarter about it, but you don’t know it would have been any different. I think about it every now and then, but it’s so hard to know if you’re going to do it right. I think genetically I was already the asshole.”
Robson advised Raducanu not to set a target date for her return from injury
She also praised Murray’s “excessive amount of preparation” before playing a game
These hard lessons make her all the more impressed that Murray is still active at 36 years old.
It is unreal that he even puts himself in a position to be seeded and has only just missed out on Wimbledon and the US Open. It’s easy to get discouraged, even eighteen months ago he looked like he was having trouble walking between sessions and after long matches.
“When I’m around him at tournaments, I can say no one comes on site earlier in the day. He could be the fourth game and he’s there preparing for breakfast: physio-bed-warm-up-physio-bed-warm-up. He goes on the track for half an hour and then back on the physio bed.
“It’s just outrageous how much preparation it takes to get him 100% ready for a game. So if you have to experience that day in and day out, it takes a lot of effort.’
After Wimbledon, the biggest question around the tournament is whether Carlos Alcaraz can defend his title from last year. Robson is not among those who believe he is ready for the kind of monopoly some have predicted, once Novak Djokovic finally succumbs to the aging process. In the long run, she expects Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune to rise to the challenge.
Robson admitted that she cannot see Carlos Alcaraz dominating tennis due to his injury history
“I find it difficult to see someone dominate in the same way, especially as Alcaraz seems to be a bit more injury prone. He plays the type of tennis that demands a lot from your body.
‘So it’s about whether he can plan everything well, so that he can still peak for the slams and tournaments he wants to be good at. But I like his attitude. We so often see a slump in the Grand Slam winner in the first few tournaments, but he will compete well enough to stay in the game even if he doesn’t play his best tennis.
I think as things have gone right now, we will see Alcaraz pushing Djokovic and vice versa. I think maybe the audience would support him (Djokovic) more because Alcaraz just won the last one. All of a sudden Novak might be a bit more of an underdog than he usually is.’
The UK singles challenge will consist of a minimum of six players. Liam Broady and Lily Miyazaki competed in the rain-delayed qualifying event last night (Friday).
The US Open returns exclusively to Sky Sports and NOW from August 28 with access to all field feeds.
The US Open returns exclusively to Sky Sports and NOW from August 28 with access to all field feeds.
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