Emma Raducanu has been blasted by Tim Henman’s former fitness coach after she pulled out of yet another tennis tournament.Â
The former US Open champion withdrew from the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, last night due to a back injury.Â
It’s the latest blow to the injury-prone Brit, which has now derailed her preparation for next month’s Australian Open.
Kieron Vorster, the former strength and conditioning coach of Henman, has recently criticized Raducanu for her fitness levels and expressed his thoughts on social media.Â
‘Maybe Raducanu supporters will finally pay attention to what I have been saying. Another withdrawal, same repetitive issue, week after week,’ Vorster posted in a harsh message on X, formerly known as Twitter.Â
Vorster had previously voiced his disapproval of the young tennis sensation – who captivated fans worldwide with her remarkable US Open triumph in 2021 – by suggesting that she was not participating enough in matches.Â
She has played at 14 events over the last year – fewer than all but two other players in the top 100 – and has vowed to get on court more often in 2025.Â
In September, she was forced to retire from her quarter-final match at the Korea Open with a ligament injury.Â
Emma Raducanu has pulled out of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand’s premier tennis tournament, with a back injury – just days before the Australian Open beginsÂ
Raducanu is still hopeful of playing in Melbourne, but her preparations have been hampered
Pictured is Kieron Vorster’s tweet reacting to Raducanu pulling out of another competitionÂ
‘She just doesn’t play enough matches,’ said Vorster, who has also been a strength and conditioning coach to the likes of Dan Evans and Wayne Ferreira.Â
‘I’ve seen her train and she trains hard, she works hard, there’s no doubting that.Â
‘But you can train as hard as you like – if you don’t have that match fitness, your body is not hardened and robust enough to play match after match after match.
‘You can practice until you’re blue in the face but you can’t replicate match conditions, that intensity and nerves when you’re 4-4 in the third serving at 0-30.’
Raducanu will fly to Melbourne and is still hopeful of competing in the first Grand Slam of the season, but she will go in with no match practice.Â
Speaking after announcing she was pulling out of her last competition of the year in New Zealand, the 22-year-old said she ‘tried my best to be ready’.
‘I love Auckland and the fans here but unfortunately picked up a back niggle and won’t be ready in time,’ the young British hopeful added.Â
Speaking in early December, Raducanu said she is determined to give physical issues the proper time to heal, rather than ‘firefighting any niggles’. Her withdrawal from Auckland could be a case in point.Â
Pictured is Kieron Vorster (in 2001) who has been critical of Raducanu for not playing as much tennis as other top 100 playersÂ
Former US Open Grand Slam champion Raducanu (pictured)Â has been blighted by injuries
Asked why she believes she has struggled with injury so far in her career, Raducanu said: ‘Part of it load: This tournament is happening, and I really want to play it, but I’ve not put in enough training and literally in the first match something starts hurting.Â
‘I got into that vicious cycle, and it’s pretty dangerous to be in. So I think just making certain load decisions and ensuring I’ve had a build up and proper training.Â
‘That my body is ready, rather than just firefighting any niggles.’
However, Vorster believes Raducanu is in need of a few home truths.Â
‘She plays an abbreviated clay court season, because she’s got a long grass court season and hard court season coming up and she doesn’t want to be burnt out or get injured,’ the 51-year-old told Mail Sport in September.
‘Then she was hurt against Lulu Sun in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, then plays one hard court event, goes to the US Open undercooked and loses first round.
‘Now she’s pulled out of Asia, is that going to be all of a sudden, ‘I’m taking it off till the end of the year, so I get ready for Australia,’ and then the cycle starts again.
‘I think there could potentially be a lot of “yes” people around her, instead of people telling her what she doesn’t want to hear, “You know what, Emma, you need to get out there and play”. She’s a good player. That’s not the issue. But this abbreviated schedule is just mind-blowing.
‘There’s too many people around her. She’s got a guy from IMG (the agency who represent her) travelling with her every single week. The tennis world’s gone crazy: gone are the days where you just have your coach and your physical trainer.’
Raducanu is yet to win more than three matches at the same event since her US Open title. Several times this season, notably at Eastbourne and Wimbledon, she has appeared to run out of steam in the latter stages of the event.
The Australia Open is the first Grand Slam of the season, taking place at Melbourne Park from January 6 to January 25.Â
