Emma Raducanu admits that she ‘wasn’t prepared’ for off-court interest after winning US Open title

Emma Raducanu has opened up about the impact that the sudden rise to stardom had on her, after winning the US Open title three years ago.

Raducanu became the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title as an 18-year-old back in 2021, doing so without dropping a single set in her ten matches in New York.

Three years on at 22-years-old, Raducanu has been unable to continue in that same form after a variety of different injuries have halted her success.

This included spending eight months out of action in 2023, after undergoing surgeries to both wrists and her left ankle.

Raducanu received a lot of interest from high-profile brands after her US Open title win, including Dior, Tiffany & Co and Porsche.

Despite only being ranked at World No.57, Sportico reported Raducanu to be the seventh highest paid female athlete in 2024 with estimated endorsements of $14million.

The 2024 Highest-Paid Female Athlete list is here! The latest from @kbadenhausen, tennis players dominate the list, with Coco Gauff leading the way with $30.4M in earnings this year.

Check out the full list: https://t.co/UAHvschj4f pic.twitter.com/AURKTeK5Mb

— Sportico (@Sportico) December 4, 2024

These off-court endeavors are something that Raducanu has touched on in a recent interview, detailing how she initially struggled to adapt to this interest after winning the US Open title.

“In my head it was like, ‘I wake up, I play tennis, I go to the gym and I go home. I don’t have anything else to do,'” said Raducanu. “But especially straight after [winning the US Open] I did really well, for the next few years there was so much communication about things off the court.

“And I would always, always give my 100% on the court. I was always working really hard, but I just think that I wasn’t prepared as well for the other things that inevitably do take some energy out of you.”

The Brit added, “I think now I’m a lot more structured. I’ll be like: ‘OK, I have this time where one hour we will talk about business. And now I’m going to go train for the rest of the week’. Also I think I’ve learned how to say no a bit more. Initially, I felt really bad for letting people down. I’d always want to do extra for whatever partner or magazine or whatever I’m shooting for.”

Raducanu has enjoyed a resurgent 2024 season, climbing from outside the top 300 to No.57 after playing just 13 tournaments.

Highlights from Raducanu’s season include reaching the semi-finals in Nottingham, four other WTA quarter-finals and making it to the last-16 of Wimbledon.

And the former World No.10 has revealed her goal to push on from this in 2025, “I want to play more than I did this year. I think now, with my set-up, I’m in a place where I can continue work on the road. So I don’t necessarily need to come back to continue good physical work.”

She continued, “I can do it pretty much every day, like microdoses. And I think that’s actually going to be a great addition for me next year, which I’m excited about.

“Also, with my tennis, I’m in a pretty good spot. I feel like I just want to see how much I can do, fulfil my potential. I’m curious about what my level can get to. I really want to play more. And I think a big part of that is just staying healthy.”

Raducanu will get her 2025 season underway at the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland, which begins on Monday 30th December.

Inside the baseline…

This is a very honest interview from Emma Raducanu, and she would not be human if the off-court endorsements did not have an impact on her as a teenager thrust into the limelight off her success. It was always going to take time for Raducanu to adjust to her new status, and there were signs that things were starting to click in the second half of 2024, so hopefully that can come to fruition next year.

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