Our smash-hit superstar
Iron will, modesty and parents who believed... recipe for glory revealed
BETH HALE looks at Emma Raducanu’s incredible journey to the top...
HER PARENTS’ PIVOTAL ROLE
While the likes of Judy Murray and Richard Williams have become almost as well-known as their champion offspring, Emma’s parents have remained surprisingly incognito.
Discreetly sitting in the crowd (rather than with the coaching team) at SW19 earlier this year, they weren’t able to travel to the US to attend the tournament because of Covid-19.
But make no mistake, Ian and Renee Raducanu have been hugely influential in their daughter’s remarkable journey.
Romanian Ian and Renee, who is Chinese, were living in Toronto, Canada, when only child Emma was born, and the family moved to the UK when she was two.
Both work in finance and home is in a cul-de-sac in Bromley, southeast London, where Emma and her dad would hit tennis balls together in the street during the Covid lockdowns.
Ian has been particularly devoted to the intricacies of raising a tennis star. There is a rumour on the circuit that he once spoke of wanting his daughter to have a different coach for each shot.
Former GB player and commentator Mark Petchey told the Mail this week: ‘[Ian’s] outlook on tennis is wide-ranging and he is happy to think outside the box.
‘As a coach, he challenges you – his view is the coach does not necessarily know everything.’ Harry Bushnell, who coached Emma from the age of six to 11 at the Parklangley Club in Beckenham, London, says: ‘It really is a wellgrounded machine. It’s a great combination of Ian, the dad, who is the driving force behind the tennis and the mum who is there saying, “you’ve still got to study”.’
But far from pushing tennis, Harry says Ian wanted Emma to make her own choices. ‘He definitely gave her some autonomy,’ he says. ‘Her father was the first person to ever say to me “we are cutting her tennis programme so she can do some other things.’
Emma also credits her parents with shaping her work ethic.
In an interview last year, she said: ‘My parents definitely have high expectations. In anything, not even just tennis. I have to be the best, do the best I can.
‘They both came from very academic families and in pretty tough countries growing up – my dad in Romania and mum in China – so they probably have a lot of that remaining... They want me to have options, they think my education is very important for my future.’
AN EDUCATIONAL SPRINGBOARD
Only a few weeks ago, Emma was anxiously awaiting her A-level results – an A* in maths and an A in economics.
It all began at Bickley Primary School in Bromley. Earlier this week, teacher Rebecca Rodger said Emma had always been sporty.
‘She was very shy, too, but we had some tennis coaching in the summer of her reception year, and with most kids at that age, you’re lucky if they’re even making contact [with the ball],’ she says. ‘But there was Emma having a rally with the coaches. We couldn’t quite believe it. Even then I remember thinking that we were going to see her at Wimbledon.’
Emma went on to Newstead Wood, a selective girls’ grammar school in Orpington, whose alumni include sprinter Dina Asher-Smith. The school shares a site with the only purpose-built tennis centre in south-east London. Emma’s day would regularly begin and end with a session in the tennis centre.
LET’S GET PHYSICAL
Long-limbed but muscular, Emma, pictured below with physio Will Herbert, appears far taller than her 5ft 8in.
‘You do have to be very strong, they [the women players] hit the ball very hard but because of that you have to cover the court even more,’ says Jo Durie. ‘Through her strength she has a lovely flowing movement, she could be a ballet dancer almost, but she has strength within it.’ And that’s quite some strength. The slender teenager can do chin-ups with a set of rings that would make bodybuilders proud, squat thrust more than most men (175lb) and – according to British teammate Heather Watson – hip thrust 440lb. As Heather said: ‘Most of the guys can’t do that.’
A WINNING MINDSET
Even when she has a momentary blip, ‘Radders’, as she’s known by her British teammates, composes herself and smiles. It’s as if the crashing disappointment of Wimbledon, when she withdrew from her fourthround clash with Ajla Tomljanovic, never happened. ‘It’s a great learning
experience for me going forward and hopefully next time I’ll be better prepared,’ she said.
‘As coaches we talk about scar tissue, those tough moments that haunt you,’ says childhood coach harry. ‘But she’s so good at dusting herself off and going again.
‘She used to always do stuff first time of asking... it was like she had been on this earth before and that’s what I’ve seen again watching her on screen this week. She composes herself, plays two or three unbelievable points in a row and then she has won the match.’ Jo Durie, the last British woman to reach a US Open semi-final, in 1983, says: ‘At Wimbledon she hadn’t played very much for 18 months, was thrust into the limelight, played great and it was a bit overwhelming, which I get, but she has learned from it quickly.
‘She has got those qualities of great faith in herself and her game – she is fearless on points, not even a split-second thought.’
Jo says word had spread about Emma’s court talent long before she hit the international stage. ‘I’ve never met Emma, but word gets around, over the years. I’ve heard, “watch out for Emma Raducanu, she’s going to be good,” and of course we all go and watch and I was like, “wow, her mindset is awesome”.
‘I wish more people would have fun doing it, even looking back at my own career, I should have had a bit more fun.’
NOW IT’S TIME TO CASH IN
Smashing records on her way to the US Open final has sent Emma’s prospects off the court into the stratosphere.
The 18-year-old will earn £1.44million if she wins, and the loser’s cheque for £865,000 is a whopping four times her career earnings to date. But it’s away from the court that her earnings potential looks set to rocket; marketing experts reckon she is on course to make many millions with endorsements and deals.
She is already managed by Max Eisenbud, one of tennis’s most powerful super agents, who helped former Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova earn up to £20 million a year in sponsorships.
Emma has a racquet sponsorship with Wilson and a clothing and shoe deal with Nike, but the competition to sign up new deals will be ‘absolutely huge’, say experts.
having already surpassed Andy Murray’s earnings at the same age, agents say Emma could go on to beat his career total of £44,859,841 on the court – and the tens of millions extra he has gleaned off it.
Steve Martin, global chief executive of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, says of Emma: ‘She could easily get to the stage where she could surpass Andy Murray – probably quite quickly. She really could be huge.’
AND THE WORLD IS FOLLOWING...
Emma’s Instagram following is increasing as quickly as her fearsome down-the-line backhand.
Incredibly well liked on the tour – ‘I’ve never heard a bad word about her, which is quite unusual,’ says an insider – she’s equally appealing to those outside the sport.
As she began her first qualifying round of the US Open, Emma had 406,079 followers. She now has 642,000 and was yesterday gaining them at the rate of 8,000 an hour.
How to watch: The final is on Amazon Prime Video from 9pm UK time