Emma Raducanu finally made it to her second career final last week at the 2026 Transylvania Open. It’s pretty amazing to think about – but not necessarily for the right reasons.
John Isner and Steve Johnson can’t believe it took the British star this long to reach another final.
Let’s be honest – Raducanu will probably always be remembered for that incredible 2021 US Open win. She was just 18 years old, came through qualifying, and didn’t drop a single set on her way to the title.
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It was one of the most shocking moments in tennis history.
But that sudden fame came with massive expectations. And she’s struggled to live up to them ever since.
The numbers tell the story pretty clearly. From 2022 to 2025, Raducanu didn’t make a single final. For a Grand Slam champion, that’s really tough to watch.
Nobody expected her to win majors left and right. But not even making one final in four years? That felt like she was seriously underperforming.
Her drought finally ended in Cluj-Napoca last week. Unfortunately, Sorana Cirstea absolutely demolished her 6-0, 6-2 in front of the home crowd.
It wasn’t exactly the comeback story everyone was hoping for.
Former ATP pros can’t believe the drought
Isner and Johnson host The Nothing Major Podcast along with Jack Sock and Sam Querrey. They recently talked about Raducanu’s career on the show.
Isner pointed out just how weird her career path has been so far.
"There are not many comms for Raducanu’s career thus far. Just a big US Open final out of nowhere coming through qualies, wins it and then doesn’t make a final again for four years."
Johnson was even more blunt about it. He congratulated her on making the final, but he’s basically stunned that it took a US Open champion this long to get back to that stage.
"2021 US Open and this are her only two finals on Tour, which is crazy. It is crazy. She kind of has done her career backwards. She came on to the scene, won the biggest tournament of her career first and has now had the growing pains after. It’s good to be in the final, but it’s crazy she has not been in another final since the 2021 US Open."
He’s got a point. Most players work their way up gradually – smaller tournaments, then bigger ones, maybe a major if they’re lucky.
Raducanu did it completely backwards. She peaked first, then had to figure everything else out.
The guys are being pretty harsh, but it’s hard to argue with them. Four years is a really long time in tennis, especially when you’re still in your early twenties.
But maybe this final run can be a turning point for her.
The coaching carousel continues
Here’s another thing that’s probably not helping Raducanu’s career – she changes coaches like most people change clothes.
She’s worked with several different people over the years. But the most shocking move was probably firing Andrew Richardson just weeks after he coached her to that US Open title.
Francisco Roig was her most recent coach. He used to work with Rafael Nadal and coached Matteo Berrettini too, so he definitely knows what he’s doing.
But Raducanu split with him recently as well.
Interestingly, her first tournament without Roig was the Transylvania Open where she made the final. Maybe she’ll say that proves she made the right call.
Though getting bageled in the first set of the final probably isn’t the validation she was looking for.
The real test will be what happens over the next few months. Can she build on this final appearance, or will it be another false start?
At 23, Raducanu still has plenty of time to figure things out. But the clock’s definitely ticking, and the tennis world is watching to see if she can find some consistency.
