Junior Wimbledon winner and British Olympic silver medalist Laura Robson backs Emma Raducanu to come back stronger after injury-related setbacks and praises ‘outrageous’ Andy Murray

While it’s been two years since Emma Raducanu stunned the tennis world at Flushing Meadows, it’s been ten years since another British teenager set his sights on big things.

In 2013, 19-year-old Laura Robson reached third round or better at three Grand Slams, including New York, defeating the likes of Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia.

This put her in the top 30 in the world before a series of wrist and hip injuries wiped out a rare talent that had given her junior title at Wimbledon when she was just fourteen.

The experience gives her an additional perspective on Raducanu and Andy Murray’s physical struggles. She remains optimistic about the former and wonders how the latter has come so far as to narrowly miss out on the seeding at the upcoming US Open.

Unlike Raducanu, Robson is in New York where she will be working on Sky Sports’ newly launched tennis coverage. Being represented by the same management company, she has some glimpses of the 2021 champion, pictured training in China while visiting relatives.

Laura Robson retired from tennis aged 28 and will cover the US Open for Sky Sports

Robson won junior Wimbledon and a silver medal at the British Olympics during her playing career

The former tennis star has opened up about all things Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray

“I heard she’s trying to get back to Asian swing after the US Open,” says Robson. “Hopefully that works out, but you almost don’t want to set a date for it because then there will inevitably be some setbacks along the way, as there always is with rehab.”

“I think it would probably be nice for them to get back into a little bit of routine.” The progression of mini red and sponge balls is pretty quick. So you know, I think she’s probably done quite a bit already.”

As a young woman, Robson was unable to undergo surgery that saved Murray’s career, and she’s been an intrigued – and thoughtful – observer of how he’s managed to move on. For them, the peak was reached ten years ago.

“My hip never healed, so I’m still aware of that on a daily basis.” I don’t think you ever go a day without examining your body. It’s a good day when you don’t feel it, but most of the time you will and it’s just something you accept. I really struggled with it because it was so spirited for me.

“I played too much after the US Open (2013). I was feeling really exhausted and I went to Asia and played all the tournaments there and was absolutely devastated by the end of the year. So I wasn’t aware of it at the time.

“You’re like, ‘Oh, this is how I’m supposed to feel.'” Maybe I could have been smarter, but you don’t know it would have been any different. I think about it from time to time, but it’s so hard to know if you’re going to get it right. I think I was just genetically screwed anyway.’

Robson advised Raducanu not to set a target date for her return from injury

She also praised Murray’s “incredible preparation” before a game

These difficult realizations impress her all the more that Murray is still at it at 36.

“It’s unreal that he would even put himself in a position to be seeded and narrowly miss out on Wimbledon and the US Open.” It’s easy to lose heart because just 18 months ago it looked like he might have he has difficulty walking between training sessions and after long games.

“Being close to him at tournaments, I can tell no one is there earlier in the day. He could be in game four and he’s there to set up breakfast: physio-bed-warm-up-physio-bed-warm-up. He goes on the field for half an hour and then back on the physio bed.

“It’s just unbelievable how much preparation it takes to get him 100% ready to go on the pitch for a game.” Just going through that day in and day out is insane.’

After Wimbledon, the biggest question of the tournament is whether Carlos Alcaraz can defend his title from last year. Robson is not among those who believe he faces the kind of monopoly that some have predicted once Novak Djokovic finally succumbs to the aging process. In the long term, she assumes that Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune will challenge.

Robson admitted she can’t imagine Carlos Alcaraz dominating tennis due to his injury history

“It’s hard for me to see someone dominating in the same way, especially as Alcaraz seem a little more prone to injury.” He plays the kind of tennis that takes a lot.

“So it’s just a matter of whether he’s able to plan everything right so that he can still be at his best in the slams and tournaments that he wants to do well in.” But I love his attitude. So often we see a slight dip in the Grand Slam winner in the first few tournaments, but he’ll keep up well enough to stay in the match even if he’s not playing his best tennis.

“I think the way things went we will see Alcaraz pushing Djokovic and vice versa.” I think the crowd could maybe support him (Djokovic) more because Alcaraz just won the last game. Suddenly Novak is maybe a bit more of an outsider than usual.”

The British Individual Challenge consists of at least six players. Liam Broady and Lily Miyazaki still took part in qualifying delayed by rain last night (Friday).

The US Open returns exclusively to Sky Sports from August 28 and NOW with access to all court feeds.

The US Open returns exclusively to Sky Sports from August 28 and NOW with access to all court feeds.