Ilkley Trophy: How Emma Raducanu is inspiring Jodie Burrage and others to follow in her footsteps

Just her and her coach on the four-hour journey from Kingston-upon-Thames to the idyllic West Yorkshire spa town.

Her mum might drive up to watch her opening match, either on the Tuesday or the Wednesday, because she doesn’t get to see her daughter play that often.

Such is the life of a tennis player on the lower rungs of the professional ladder.

The Ilkley Trophy for them, and for Burrage, is one of the more lucrative tournaments of the year, offering ranking points that can change a summer in one week and the chance to hone their game ahead of Wimbledon qualifiers.

It is the journey Emma Raducanu was embarking upon before that life-changing late summer of 2021.

“Emma has shown that you don’t have to be ranked at the top to beat those top players,” Burrage, the world’s No 235, tells The Yorkshire Post.

“It’s inspiring what she’s done, she did something no one had ever done before coming through qualifiers to win a Grand Slam at the US Open, it just shows how close the margins are, how close the level is, that it’s just not that far away.

“I’ve played Emma – I’ve beaten her, I’ve lost to her – it just shows that anyone can beat anyone.

“What she has achieved has spurred us all on.”

Burrage heads to Ilkley in good shape. After a period battling injuries including a stress fracture of a rib, plus a change of coach from David Felgate to Craig Veal, she has enjoyed some significant victories. She reached the semi-finals of the Surbiton Trophy two weeks ago and achieved her first win at a WTA event last week in Nottingham.

“You have these little milestones that you work towards and I got one of those last week,” she says.

“I played a few WTA’s before and in the last grass court season I lost some really tight matches that I had chances in.

“I’ve always felt my level has been there, just mentally and physically I wasn’t quite there, so I felt it has been coming.

“You have to have that positive mentality each week, you have to back yourself.

“It’s nice to get a bit of a reward from the work I’ve been putting in since my injury and I’m ready to push on to the next level.”

The next level would be a long week at Ilkley and more matches for her mum to watch, followed by a successful campaign in Wimbledon qualifiers that would secure her a place back at SW19.

“I’ve never actually done Wimbledon qualifying because of injuries, but I had a good year leading up to last year and they gave me a main draw wild card for Wimbledon,” says Burrage, who was beaten in straight sets by American Lauren Davis in the first round.

“Obviously that was the biggest match I’ve played. I didn’t play to my best level at all in that match, the occasion got to me, I didn’t realise how nervous I would be until I got on court.

“Playing in front of a crowd like that at Wimbledon is just a dream, that was another milestone I ticked off last year, but now I feel I’m ready to do more than just play at Wimbledon – maybe win some matches there.Even if I don’t win any matches at Ilkley it’s another match on the grass, another opportunity, another chance to find your level.”

She has won four singles tournaments at the ITF level but victory this week would be her finest.

“Ilkley is a £100k (prize money) event so it’s probably the best ITF tournament you could play and it’s a big opportunity for me with the points on offer that are a lot more than I’m used to getting, unless I’m actually winning tournaments,” says Burrage.

“It will be a good opportunity to build on how I’ve been playing, build on my ranking and push on.”

Hence the arrival on Monday. “You want to get used to your surroundings, I’ll want to get used to the courts up there and what it’s like,” says Burrage, who also hopes to play doubles at Ilkley.

“It’s a four-hour drive for me, it’s a lot of time to be putting on the legs any closer than that.

“The longer I can stay next week the better – hopefully I end up winning it.”

Former ATP top-10 stars Jack Sock of America and Fernando Verdasco of Spain headline the men’s event in Ilkley, while France’s Kristina Mladenovic, fresh from winning the doubles at Roland Garros, is on the ladies’ side. Play starts Sunday.