After a dream start to her senior tennis career, Emma Raducanu is preparing for her first full WTA Tour season.

Since her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in the summer, to making history at the US Open, the teenager has been the focal point of British tennis. 

But with her almighty triumph at Flushing Meadows came a huge level of expectation moving forward.

Raducanu stunned the world when she exploded onto the scene and became the first qualifier to ever win a major tournament.

After riding the wave of her victory, the youngster found herself permanently in the spotlight, with her every move watched and criticised.

Since returning from the US Open, Raducanu has won just two of her five matches played and was subsequently handed early exits from Indian Wells, the Transylvania Open, and most recently the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.

She also parted ways with her coach Andrew Richardson shortly after winning her first Grand Slam under his guidance. A lot of talk swirled around who she would appoint as her mentor next, before officially announcing Torben Beltz earlier this month.

Emma Raducanu

Annabel Croft has discussed what she thinks can be expected from Raducanu in this new chapter of her career.

"I think with a new coach in place, I think she’ll be very good," she told Metro. "He’s incredibly experienced, it’s early days.

"How long will they stick together? There’s a feeling that none of these coaches are going to be given long-term contracts so we’ll see how long it goes but I think she’s chosen somebody who is very experienced which is what she wanted"

The former world number 24 then stressed the importance of being patient with the young star and stated: "We mustn’t panic about her, she’s still so young and she is coping unbelievably with so much change in her life."

Annabel Croft

Indeed, despite the abundance of praise Raducanu has received for her achievements, she has also come under some scrutiny regarding her dip in form. She was even subject to doubts over whether she could handle the pressure of Wimbledon when she was forced to retire from the fourth round due to breathing problems.

But with a new coach alongside her and a full WTA Season Tour ahead, tennis fans can be excited over what is to come from the British number one.

Emma Raducanu

"I think her ranking will continue to rise," Croft said. "I can’t see it going in reverse. I think there’ll obviously be enormous pressure building towards Wimbledon and then towards the US Open.

"It’s an extraordinary situation and most players she’s playing up against are maybe three or 10 years [more] experienced compared to her and she’s going to have to go through all those matches and learn about those situations which will take time.

"She’s not going to win every single match."

Raducanu will next take to the court in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship — a three-day exhibition event in Abu Dhabi scheduled to get underway on December 16th.