One hit wonder or not,she’s managed to make a few quid from being able to hit a ball over a net,so good luck to her
When Emma won the US Open last year, the media interest and expectations on her were quite minimal. On winning the US Open and attending some high profile and star-studded functions wearing designer fashion and jewellery, the interest was piqued… Young, attractive, intelligent, an engaging smile with a warm personality. A marketing dream…
The 2022 season begins in a way she could have hardly imagined 12 months ago - The media, commentators and competitors are all watching, many expecting great things from her in tennis during the new season.
She may well have just one major tournament title to her name, and win no more. I’m hoping that with the right coach and team support she’ll add further trophies… She’s a winner! 
Go girl…
Rob
She has a tough 1st Round opponent in American Sloane Stephens at the Australian Open next week. Sloane won the US Open back in 2017, but hasn’t acheived as much as I thought she would have by now… No single player dominating women’s tennis at the moment…
Rob
Emma has just started her 1st Round match against Sloane Stephens at the Australian Open.
Made a good start - 2-0 up in first set and 40-15 up in the third game…
Come on Emma
Rob
Great win against Sloane Stephens - well done Emma.
Although Stephens has slipped in the rankings a bit recently, and was therefore not seeded, she was still a slippery customer.
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My son is a former Army fitness & Basic Training instructor, now a civilian intake trainer & fitness re-hab instructor at Police Scotland HQ. Also highly qualified in rehab via diet & exercise matters. On a few levels an expert in his chosen fields.
We were discussing Emma after her loss, and in his view she needs to withdraw from International for a year or so, get more mentally robust, and try to find a coach she clicks with.
The big issue…losing sponsors cash and potentially ending up in courts of a different sort.
In short, she is weak in vital areas, and has not the required levels of skills & experience to beat the majority of opponents she has to face. She has just been beaten by…a blister and a low buck player. She’d possibly not get past first two weeks of Basic at Catterick…lack of killer instinct & inner belief and sheer physical robustness. As he said…make a list of female world beaters over the last 25 years…and figure how long she’s last with eg Steph Graff. She’d be toast in 20 minutes.
The kid needs air & space, plus bob on coaching. Yes, she can say No to it all…but we do not know how much pressure is going on behind the curtains.
Time the media & public took their feet off the kid’s neck. Too much too soon…for her anyhow.
There may well be a British champion in the making if she is managed for her welfare’s sake and not for the game’s sake and gains of others.
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Not Emma’s day today, but she showed she can go to Plan B when carrying an injury. Due to badly blistered racket-hand her forehand shots and serving were greatly compromised.
Never good to lose, but the experience gained is priceless and shows her competitive spirit in changing match-play situations.
Needs to rest that injury for quite a while in my opinion, and if she can choose her tournaments selectively, prepare for Paris…
Congratulation though to Danka Kovinic - First time for her in making the 3rd round…
Rob
Badly blistered? It was a blister, a small one at that.
Obviously bad enough to stop her playing the forehand shots with topspin, and relying largely on chip shots instead… Serve was compromised too. Constant movement of the racket over the blister can only have worsened it as the match progressed…
Rob
Just a blister. First world problems. Hardly likely to put out a sportsperson out for “quite a while”. Not like a replacement hip. Of course, if it is such a major injury that is apparently likely to seriously disrupt the player’s season, maybe she should have just chucked the match. But, it was just a blister.
Ooooh, that’s a bit harsh fellas. That blister looks to be in just the right (or wrong) place to make holding a tennis racket extremely painful, let alone playing a competitive match.
Does anyone remember when Marin Cilic tried to play the Wimbledon final against Federer a few years back - only blisters on his feet, but he had a job to move.
Good win in her opening match at Indian Wells yesterday, beating Caroline Garcia in 3 sets…
Hoping she’ll kick-on strongly through 2022…! 
Rob
So, it seems she’s a flash in the pan. The establishment rush out an MBE and she rushes down the rankings like a trip over the Niagara Falls. I feel a tad sorry for her, hopefully she can turn this round in the future.
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That is a little harsh Davy, but I’m sure you’re not going to be the only one with that opinion.
Her “Fairy Tale in New York” last year is probably going to haunt her for some time to come though. Now is a reality check for her, and she has to knuckle down to build on her natural talent for the game, and perhaps more importantly, build up her body to cope with the rigours of the tennis tour - she has suffered numerous injuries in the past year, so it’s obvious she has to get stronger.
A few weeks ago, she beat Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka in a tournament, so there is obviously something there. Quality coaching and training is now going to be needed to help her hopefully realise the potential she has shown.
Only time will tell, and I wish her the best of luck for the future.
Did you see all the plasters on her fingers?
I still remember that kind of pain. At least with golf gloves are allowed.
Those grip-blisters were among the reasons why as a teenager I could never bat for long at cricket or play tennis. Nobody told us how to toughen up our hands without copious supplies of meths or alcohol (both verboten at boarding school).
Same problem with feet for distance running.
I had a similar problem when I started to play the guitar - boy was that painful, and nobody warned me ! A dodge I was told, was to soak my fingertips in surgical spirit, which after some weeks helped a great deal.
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I don’t follow Tennis, but winning last year was incredible. The thing I thought strange was get to a major final, win it, and the next day sack your coach.
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I can’t get why she sacked the coach who brought her success. She must have her reasons but she has performed no where near as well since.
I understood at the time, that her then coach didn’t want to go through the rigours of a world tour, so ruled himself out of the job, but perhaps I misunderstood (wouldn’t be the first time !).
I look at Emma winning 10 matches including the final at the 2021 US Open, Emma’s Part 1 of her tennis career.
Part 2 starts now, early exit from 2022 US Open (disappointing yes) In 2023 with her drop in the rankings, she’ll have to do it the hard way, qualifiers etc. 2023 will prove if she has the ambition, fitness and stability in her team to succeed…
Rob