Success comes at a price Raducanu is willing to pay
Winning the US Open meant the British tennis star’s life changed forever, but Emma Raducanu wouldn’t have it any other way. reports.
A20-year-old, ranked 78 in the world with one title to her name doesn’t usually get much fuss made about her when she comes to the ASB Classic.
But Emma Raducanu is not like most players.
That’s because her solitary title was at the 2021 US Open, when she created history by becoming the first qualifier to win a grand slam in the open era.
What made her achievement even more incredible was that she won all 10 matches without dropping a set, or even going to a tiebreak.
She became a worldwide superstar because of those three weeks, with the British public and media latching on to everything she’s subsequently done or said. But it was unrealistic to expect Raducanu continue to play as well as she did at that US Open and early round exits in subsequent tournaments led to unfair criticism.
When she lost 6-3 6-3 in the first round of the 2022 US Open to Alize Cornet from France, her world ranking plummeted instantly from 11 to 83.
However, she remains one of the most recognisable faces in women’s tennis. In 2022 she was the most Googled active British women’s sports star and it’s believed she has received a sixfigure appearance fee to come to Auckland.
So clearly, tournament organisers, as well as tennis fans, hope she goes deep at the Classic and Raducanu herself wants to build on the lessons she learnt in 2022, on and off the court.
‘‘I’ve had to adapt to the other things. I haven’t changed as a person, but the other things around me have changed a lot,’’ Raducanu said on Saturday.
‘‘So I’ve become extremely busy, I don’t have any time, that’s probably the biggest thing.
‘‘I’m probably more in the public eye, but it comes with the territory and I wouldn’t change it for what happened.’’
Since winning the US Open, Raducanu reportedly signed a
$6 million deal with Vodafone and has other sponsorship contracts with Porsche, Nike, Dior, British Airways, Evian and Tiffany’s and Co.
That led to criticism from the British tabloids that she should spend more time training on a tennis court, rather than bulking up her bank account.
But 18-time grand slam champion Chris Evert said in April: ‘‘to be a superstar in England is the toughest thing ever for a player.
‘‘I just think with the tabloids in England it’s brutal. I mean, they camp out at your doorstep if you’re a superstar. I think Emma is handling everything beautifully.’’
Raducanu has had to become thick-skinned about how she’s treated by the media and accept that there’s going to be plenty written about her that’s not correct.
‘‘I would say a lot of the stuff isn’t true, but I’m not one to call anyone out,’’ she said.
‘‘I know what’s true, the people around me know what’s true and dealing with it, you’ve just got to accept that people are going to talk and take it as a compliment really.
‘‘If there’s something worth talking about they’ll talk, if you’re not worth talking about, then they won’t talk about you, that’s how I spin it.’’
A key for Raducanu in 2023 will be to stay injury free, something she’s struggled with in the past.
She has recently teamed up with Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer Jez Green and she hopes she’ll be able to spend more time on court in 2023.
‘‘I had to cut my season short because of a wrist injury and I didn’t play tennis for two and a half, three months,’’ Raducanu said.
‘‘I did a lot of fitness, but I’ve honestly started to get back into tennis in the last two weeks.
‘‘I’m feeling good, it’s been a bit stop start, but I know physically I’m in a better place than I was starting last year.
‘‘I’m really looking forward to building, I feel like I’m setting up a good system right now of how I want to work.
‘‘Last year (2022) was good at providing the experiences, so this year I have a better understanding of how I want to do things.’’
That US Open win will be the defining moment of Raducanu’s career until she achieves something equally significant.
She knows that, but doesn’t feel it’s a worthwhile exercise to analyse how’s she playing now, to then.
‘‘There have been points where I’ve looked back on it, but I’ve come to the realisation that there’s no point in comparing myself to last year, or how I was playing then,’’ she said.
‘‘Also, the players were playing me differently. Rewatching the matches many times, I feel the opponents were giving me a lot more than they would have last year.
‘‘Whether that’s not punishing one of my shots, or an error on big points, I think that I did get away with a lot.
‘‘That was great for those three weeks, but then even if I genuinely feel like I’m a stronger and better player right now than I was a year and a half ago, on paper it might look like ‘‘I’m not, but I have confidence that I’m going in the right way.’’
‘‘I would say a lot of the stuff isn’t true, but I’m not one to call anyone out. I know what’s true, the people around me know what’s true.’’ Emma Raducanu