Tennis: "I would have preferred never to win the US Open", breathes Raducanu

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu has said she sometimes wishes she hadn't won the Grand Slam because of the pressure that comes with success and fame. The then 18-year-old appeared out of nowhere to win the 2021 tournament in style, not dropping a single set in the nine matches she played before the final, but she couldn't. continue on his way due to recurring injuries.

“That moment on the court, when I was celebrating, I thought to myself that I would literally trade any fight in the world for that moment,” Raducanu told The Sunday Times. “Since then I have had many setbacks, one after the other. I'm resilient, my tolerance is high, but it's not easy. Sometimes I think I wish I had never won the U.S. Open."

The victory was accompanied by praise, but it also exposed Raducanu to a world previously unknown, often ruthless and paved with expectations. “I had to mature very quickly. When I won I was extremely naive,” Raducanu said. “What I've achieved over the past two years, the tour and everything that comes with it, is not a very pleasant space, where you feel confident and safe. You have to be on your guard because there are a lot of sharks”.

“I think people in the industry, especially me who was 19 and am 20 now, think of me as a piggy bank. It was difficult to find it. I got fried several times. I learned to keep a circle as small as possible. Raducanu missed Roland-Garros this year and will also be absent from Wimbledon while she recovers from wrist and ankle surgery.

“The pain intensified last summer after Wimbledon,” she said. “I started with a new coach and I was very motivated. We were overtraining...and I kept going through the pain because I didn't want to be seen as weak.