Victoria Azarenka has advice for Emma Raducanu to avoid ‘fake friends’ latching on to her
Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka has told Emma Raducanu to ditch the hangers on to get back to her best.
Raducanu became one of the most recognisable sporting stars when she won the US Open in 2021 as an 18-year-old.
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However, form and injury has held her back from kicking on her career from there.
There has also been accusations that she has spent too much time working with sponsors and attending events rather than training - something both her and her agent have strongly rebuffed.
Azarenka gave her insight into the situation and suggested it was a mistake to ditch her US Open winning coach Andrew Richardson.
Azarenka told the 's Upfront with Simon Jordan podcast: “When Emma won the US Open, what I noticed at that time was that everybody latched onto her as if she was their friend, and I was thinking that they probably didn't even know her a month ago.
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“In a way, it didn't feel very real. It's sad to hear her say that sometimes she wishes she had never won the US Open, but I think this is a very momentary feeling because if you said to her 'Okay, we'll take it away and you can carry on', I'm not sure she would agree to that.
“I think the advice I would have given her is that you should not forget the people who drove you to that moment and who helped you get there. From my experience, I would say she needs to have a very small circle and a very solid one.”
Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open winner, also detailed how she first spoke to Raducanu, before she made her debut on tour.
"I met Emma on WhatsApp," revealed the Belarusian. "Her agent at the time reached out to mine and said that there was a young girl who wanted to talk to me and ask me for some advice.
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"We talked for about an hour, and she was telling me that she was having some injury troubles and that she was looking forward to joining the tour. Then at Wimbledon in 2021, I heard the name Emma Raducanu, and I looked back in my emails and it was her!
"When Emma won the US Open, the feeling was one of ecstasy and people being so happy for her. Now that she is down, people are jumping on her and those negative waves are hard to handle.
"When you’re in the moment, you don’t realise what’s going on around you, and I don’t think she realised how big she became and how huge the moment was. Everybody wanted to be a part of it."
Raducanu’s 2023 season has virtually been ended by the need to have surgery on both wrists and ankle.
No timeframe has been given for her return to the court, but it is likely to be at the end of this year or at the start of 2024.
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