Frances Tiafoe and Emma Raducanu's recent fates show what a cyclical sport tennis is

Tennis is a rough sport. Most players' careers are filled with ebbs and flows, injuries, jubilation, and disappointment. Illustrating this point are the fates of Frances Tiafoe and Emma Raducanu who both had momentous days recently, but for very different reasons.

Tiafoe has struggled. Most recently, he lost the US Clay Courts Championship final to Ben Shelton. He has also gone through his share of coaches. In December, he parted ways with longtime coach Wayne Ferreira who had been on his team since 2020. At that time, he was excited to reunite with Diego Moyano, a former Argentinian tennis player who worked with up-and-coming players like Tiafoe, Coco Gauff, Tommy Paul, and Reilly Opelka through the USTA Player Development program.

This was the first time Moyano would coach Tiafoe privately, but it was short-lived. Tiafoe announced on April 12 that he had parted ways with Moyano. Changing coaches during the season is not the norm, especially with Roland Garros a month away, but he needs to shake things up. Tiafoe has fallen out of the Top 20 and is the fourth-ranked American behind Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, and Tommy Paul.

On the same day, Emma Raducanu had a big win

Who has had more ups and downs in her brief career than Emma Raducanu? Between the enormous win at the 2021 US Open, the coaching changes, injuries, and surgeries, she has seen it all. That's why it is gratifying when she takes a big step forward which happened at her Billie Jean King Cup qualifying match (between Great Britain and France) with Caroline Garcia.

Garcia, ranked 23rd, is the 2022 WTA Finals Champion, and Raducanu came from behind at 3-6 and 0-2 down to win the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Fans want to see Raducanu climb the rankings, get big wins, stay healthy, and be joyful while she is playing great tennis. She is only 21 and possesses one title win, the US Open Grand Slam.

Tiafoe and Raducanu experiencing different fates on the same day show how difficult it is to be a professional tennis player and keep yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally at the top of your game year after year. For that reason, Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek's long-term reigns on the top of the men's and women's games are extremely impressive.

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