Former tennis champion Andy Roddick has made headlines for disparaging comments directed towards emerging talent Emma Raducanu. As the British sensation gets ready to play again at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, she is dealing with a major drop in her career ranking. Roddick contended that Raducanu’s approach to events would be unwise, despite her unquestionably remarkable ascent to popularity. He cited Andre Agassi‘s climb up the world ranking by playing multiple low-level challenger circuits.

Delving into the topic, Roddick’s comments have prompted a debate in the tennis community regarding the best way to plan strategies for various tournaments for up-and-coming players like Raducanu.

Andy Roddick on Emma Raducanu’s lack of strategy in her choice of tournaments

In the latest episode of ‘Served With Andy Roddick’, the former tennis star criticized Raducanu’s approach of only participating in major events. “Right now, she has to work her way back. She has not played enough matches. For her, she needs matches anywhere. I don’t care if it’s in a parking lot for a dollar. You need matches to get back into the rhythm of things. She needs matches like Andre Agassi coming back. Remember the flipping on the scoreboard at the Vegas Challenger?” 

Agassi famously dropped from World No.1 to 141 facing his own demons of being a top sportspersona. It forced his coach to intervene and ask him a crucial question – either quit, or rebuild. Agassi chose the latter, which involved working his way up from the bottom and playing the low-level ranks first. One of them was, of course, Vegas.

Andy Roddick’s remarks for Raducanu further emphasize the importance of consistent participation in tournaments to build not just experience but trust in one’s abilities as well.“You have to create confidence. Confidence is not created in practice. You know, improvements are made in practice. Technical adjustments are made in practice.” 

“Fitness can be largely made in practice. Confidence cannot be created. It could be held in practice but cannot be created in practice,” Roddick further added. The retired tennis player also shared his own way of navigating the complexities of the strategies regarding choosing tournaments.

Here’s what Roddick would do if he were Raducanu’s coach

Andy Roddick shared a piece of advice that he would like to give the 21-year-old professional tennis player. He gave an example of himself as a coach and how he would like to guide Raducanu to get back to the pinnacle of her sport.

Read more: British Tennis Star Emma Raducanu Gets Prudent ‘Practice’ Advice from a 9-Year-Old as She Looks to Hasten Her Comeback

“If I was her coach, I would say Indian Wells we will see how it goes and if not, we’re gonna get three challengers in instead of playing Miami and I would get fired,” Roddick said in the podcast.

The guidance Raducanu received from Andy Roddick may prove to be quite helpful as she continues to deal with the difficulties of playing professional tennis. It will be interesting to see if she decides to follow his advice or take a different approach, but one thing is for sure: her strategic choices will continue to receive scrutiny.