‘Sometimes I think to myself, “I wish I’d never won the US Open”‘: Emma Raducanu admits her shock grand slam success at 18 weighs heavily on her as she opens up on ‘sharks’ seeing her as a ‘piggy bank’
- Emma Raducanu says she sometimes wishes she didn’t win the US Open in 2021
- Since securing glory as an 18-year-old Raducanu has had struggles with injuries
- Raducanu added that a lot of ‘sharks’ in tennis see her as a ‘piggy bank’
Emma Raducanu has revealed that she sometimes wishes that she didn’t win the US Open.
Raducanu secured glory at the age of 18 as she won the US Open in 2021 and became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade in 1977.
However, she has subsequently struggled with injuries and has had five coaches in less than two years.
Raducanu told The Times: ‘That moment on the court, when I was celebrating [the US Open win], I was like, I would literally trade any struggle in the world for this moment,’ said Raducanu.
‘Anything can come my way, I will take it for what I have right now because this is the best thing in the world. I promised myself that, on the court that day.
Emma Raducanu has revealed that she sometimes wishes she didn’t win the US Open in 2021
Raducanu has had difficulties with injuries and has also changed her coach on many occasions
‘Since then I’ve had a lot of setbacks, one after the other. I am resilient, my tolerance is high, but it’s not easy. And sometimes I think to myself ‘I wish I’d never won the US Open, I wish that didn’t happen’.
‘Then I am like, ‘remember that feeling, remember that promise’, because it was completely pure.’
Raducanu, 20, added that there are a lot of ‘sharks’ in tennis who see her as a ‘piggy bank’.
She said: ‘What I have realised in the past two years, the tour and everything that comes with it, it’s not a very nice, trusting and safe space.
Raducanu, who is ranked at No. 128 in the world, recently split with coach Sebastian Sachs
‘You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there. I think people in the industry, especially with me because I was 19, now 20, they see me as a piggy bank.
‘It has been difficult to navigate. I have been burned a few times. I have learned, keep your circle as small as possible.’
Raducanu, who recently split with her coach Sebastian Sachs, is currently ranked at No. 128 in the world, with her highest ranking having been No. 10 just under a year ago.
After missing the French Open this year, Raducanu also won’t be able to compete at Wimbledon due to minor operations on her ankle and hands.
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