Arabic version: رادوكانو تستلهم من عودة أغاسي في مسيرته

According to BBC News, Emma Raducanu has been reading Andre Agassi’s 2009 autobiography as she works towards a return to the top of tennis. The Briton said she was particularly interested in the American’s account of recovering from a slump in the late 1990s by developing his own training regimen and finding a route back to the summit.

Raducanu, who won the US Open at 18 as the first qualifier in the Open era to win a Grand Slam, said Agassi’s story felt relatable. Agassi had been a teenage prodigy and won the first of his eight major singles titles at Wimbledon in 1992, aged 22. He later endured a four-year spell without a major title and fell to 141st in the world rankings before rebuilding his career.

Agassi said he was pleased that his experiences could still help players facing difficult periods. Asked what advice he would offer Raducanu, he encouraged her to focus on being the best version of herself each day rather than assessing herself solely through results. He also said players should learn to be “100% of whatever percent” they are at and be comfortable in their identity rather than being defined by outside opinion.

Raducanu reached a career-high ranking of 10 in July 2022 but is now ranked 98th. Physical problems have continued to affect her progress: she missed the US Open while recovering from a stress fracture in her lower right leg, after a foot injury interrupted her pre-season and a post-viral illness kept her off court for two-and-a-half months earlier this year. However, she reached her biggest final since her New York triumph at Queen’s Club in June.

Agassi, who completed the career Grand Slam and won Olympic singles gold in 1996, will captain Team USA at the Laver Cup at The O2 in London from 25-27 September. He said the event’s place in players’ schedules demonstrated its standing and predicted spectators would see “some spectacular tennis” when Team USA meets Team Europe.