Dan Evans tears into British tennis stars as Raducanu struggles remain

Dan Evans has slammed British tennis players for not entering enough tournaments, suggesting the nation’s stars favour rest over matchplay. The 32-year-old’s comments come as Emma Raducanu’s on-court struggles continue with the former US Open champion set to fall out of the top 100 for the first time since her 2021 triumph in Flushing Meadow.

Evans has made slow progress on the court in recent years and is currently world No 24. And in the Madrid Open, he fell to a disappointing 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round.

After the match, he ripped into his fellow British tennis stars for underperforming – suggesting that they do not compete in enough tournaments. He called out many of the women’s players in particular after no one competed in the week after the Billie Jean Cup.

“[As a nation], we’re picking and choosing what tournaments we play and we’re ranked 200 in the world,” Evans said. “I’m not going to bag the girls here but no one played after [the Billie Jean King Cup in Coventry a fortnight ago]. There’s some cultural thing about resting and all that. It’s not new. Maybe they’ve got too much money or something.”

“I think players need to compete more week in week out. The players need to get out on the road and just get after it. It’s not like there’s great science behind it. I mean, it can be hard on the tour but you need to be at it.

“I’m never going to say I’m a blueprint but James Ward – when he made it to 80 in the world – was playing in Challengers and Futures events week in week out. Cam [Norrie] learned his trade by playing his matches and being in competitive situations. He’s not got good on the practice court. He plays his tournaments, he sticks to his schedule, he’s never injured – touch wood – and how that’s not a blueprint is beyond me, basically.”

Britain’s men are statistically performing better than they have in the past with four, including Evans, in the top 100 in the world. However, the same cannot be said for the women’s game with Raducanu still Britain’s No 1 despite the fact she will fall out of the top 100 after pulling out of the Madrid Open with an injury.

It remains to be seen whether or not Evans’ fellow stars will heed his advice as they look to improve in the sport.