Dan Evans backs Emma Raducanu to win Wimbledon one day

Dan Evans believes Emma Raducanu will eventually win Wimbledon, praising her confidence in big matches despite injuries and questions about her commitment. Evans also criticised Davis Cup captain Leon Smith over his retirement send-off and the refusal of a wildcard.

New Delhi: Former British tennis star Dan Evans has claimed that compatriot Emma Raducanu will “some day” win the prestigious Wimbledon title.

Raducanu, 23, won her maiden Grand Slam in 2021 when she cruised to the US Open title as a qualifier. Injuries have hampered her career as she has now slipped outside the Top 100 in the world ranking after giving the SW19 and Flushing Meadows a miss due to a stress fracture in her right leg.

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However, Evans feels that she will some day get her hands on the Wimbledon title. “She’s good, and I think – I’m saying this in as nice a way as possible – I think she thinks she’s good,” Evans, who retired at Wimbledon 2026, told The Telegraph.

“Not in an arrogant way, but when she plays big matches, she’s like ‘Whatever. This is just another match.’ And yeah, I just think one day she’ll get it.”

Apart from injuries, Raducanu has also faced commitment questions; however, Evans believes that the 2021 US Open winner is putting in the hard yards for her goals.

“There’s no doubt she needs to have a racket in her hand a bit more,” he said. “I’m sure she’s getting pushed side-to-side by endorsements, and there’s a bit of tug of war on what she needs to do, what she doesn’t.

“I admit I’ve not watched her practices very often, but from what I’m told she’s a good trainer: she works for two, three hours in a row with hardly any break.”

Meanwhile, he also spoke on his low-key retirement at the SW19, where he was denied a wildcard for the singles and played his last doubles match on Court 15, and not on the main court.

He hit out at Leon Smith, Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain and the head of men’s tennis for the Lawn Tennis Association, for not allowing him to play as a wildcard in the events.

“My gripe is that there’s no connection made between what people have done for British tennis, by playing in the Davis Cup, and the wildcards,” Evans added. “Because the amount of times I probably didn’t want to play Davis Cup, but I did it… and then I couldn’t get a wild card into the Ilkley Challenger.

“I just think it’s a lack of respect, but that’s what you come to expect from the Davis Cup captain. Once he doesn’t need you, that’s what you get, isn’t it? So, you know, he won’t be on my Christmas cards this year, and he didn’t respond to my message I sent him after (retirement),” he added.