Tennis legend Martina Navratilova believes Emma Raducanu needs to “take ownership of her tennis career” following the Brit’s opening round exit at the 2024 US Open. 

The 18-time major singles champion does not think Raducanu is “as fit as she should be” and argued the 21-year-old needs to “fix” her body.

Raducanu suffered a 1-6, 6-3, 4-6 loss to world No 54 and former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the first round of the US Open.

Prior to her defeat in New York, Raducanu had not played a match since her quarter-final loss to Paula Badosa in Washington almost a month earlier.

The 2021 US Open champion has faced criticism for not entering either of the tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati before the hard-court Grand Slam. She would have needed to play qualifying matches at the WTA 1000 events due to her ranking.

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Raducanu chose not compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer as she felt the demands of changing surface to clay would have been a risk for her body given her injury history.

After Raducanu’s loss to Kenin, Navratilova urged Raducanu to take full responsibility and improve her fitness and physical durability.

“I think Emma needs to take ownership of herself, of her brand, and of her tennis career most of all,” the former world No 1 told Sky Sports. “She needs to be clear who her team is, what her goal is and not let herself off the hook.

“Aryna Sabalenka, when she had problems with her serve and everybody was trying to help her, she took ownership of it and fixed it herself.

“Emma needs to be in charge and she’s old enough to know what she should be doing – surround herself with good people and then trust in them, and give it time so that you can see the results.

“Technically she is great, but she needs more matchplay. I still don’t think she is as fit as she should be.

“I feel like if you don’t want to play the Olympics because it’s a different surface, you need to fix your body.

“Maybe it’s just not equipped for this kind of stress. She needs to think long-term… not tomorrow or next week.”

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