For four arduous years, so much of Emma Raducanu\u2019s life has played out in public. Every decision relating to her career has been dissected and debated. The most banal details surrounding her personal life have been transfigured into headline news. In order to find herself on and off the tennis court, Raducanu has had to learn how to tune out the noise, which at times can be deafening.<\/p>\n
Only one month ago at Wimbledon, the discourse surrounding the 22-year-old reached diabolical lows. Even though her on-court performances were strong, it was impossible to escape the speculation surrounding her personal life. In the bowels of Center Court at the Cincinnati Open, I offer my own blunt perspective: I have never cringed as much as I did while watching people trying to pry into her romantic relationships at the All England Club. \u201cYeah, and Cam\u2019s questions, too,\u201d Raducanu responds, laughing. \u201cThat was terrible. Terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was referring to her compatriot Cameron Norrie\u2019s post-match press conference, when a reporter asked him whether he was dating Raducanu. Norrie, who was being supported in his player box that day by his long-term partner, was as baffled as he was bemused. For Raducanu, though, such brazen intrusiveness from strangers has simply become part of her everyday life. \u201cI know, I know,\u201d she says, smiling. \u201cI guess it comes with the territory, people being so curious. I think they\u2019re more curious about this news than any tennis results and tennis news. But I just keep to myself, my private life to one side. It\u2019s always funny when people try to find something out, but I try not to read into it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
That curiosity is not isolated to the internet and tabloids. When Raducanu is out in London, paparazzi will find her, even when she is doing nothing more than stepping on to a 345 bus somewhere in Wandsworth. \u201cIt\u2019s really freaky, because you don\u2019t know they\u2019re there. And then you\u2019ll see a photo of yourself the next day, and you\u2019ll be like: \u2018There\u2019s no way they were there,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Emma Raducanu with the US Open trophy in 2021. Photograph: John G Mabanglo\/EPA<\/p>\n
Considering her well-documented encounters with stalkers \u2013 one was arrested and handed a five-year restraining order<\/a> after stealing items from her front door in 2021 and another fixated person followed her across four different countries earlier this year \u2013 Raducanu has genuine concerns regarding her safety: \u201cAfter the Dubai incident<\/a>, that was probably the worst [public attention] I\u2019ve had,\u201d she says. \u201cI remember straight afterwards, I found it very difficult going out. I definitely had a bit of a leftover lag effect. But I\u2019ve been a lot more astute, a lot more, I\u2019d say, safe and I have someone with me. I don\u2019t really go out on my own as much. No solo walks. Just always having someone watching my back.\u201d<\/p>\n Everything leads back to those three fateful weeks at the US Open in the summer of 2021, where Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a grand slam title in the open era. The spoils of victory were significant but Raducanu\u2019s rapid success yielded considerable challenges. Along with the difficult results and constant criticism, her body constantly betrayed her. In 2023, after struggling physically for a long time, she underwent surgeries on both wrists and her left ankle.<\/p>\n While she tried to prove herself on the court, Raducanu says, people within her team would tell her she was not tough. \u201cI was obviously, like: \u2018Oh, no, I am tough enough,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t good to hear, because I always prided myself on being a hard worker and being tough. And I believe I am. I actually think it was more the people around me that were incorrect, and it led me to having three surgeries and double wrist surgery. I was overtraining and just covering it up, not saying I was in pain, even when I was. So it was really tough to hear. But as I\u2019ve grown with experience, I kind of realised my body a bit more and trusted myself a bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n Mentally, things were even more challenging. As she failed to follow up her breakthrough victory with similar results, there were times when her mind twisted her US Open triumph into a negative memory, the source of her struggles. It was not until this year that she understood how to focus on her improvement and daily work, however gradual, rather than comparing every result with the 2021 US Open. Still, it remains a work in progress. \u201cIt\u2019s [comparisons to the US Open] something that never fully leaves you,\u201d Raducanu says. \u201cI think it\u2019s been four years now, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fully gone away. Maybe in a few years, maybe when I\u2019m older, more mature, but it\u2019s hard to put that aside completely. It\u2019s always in the back of your mind, but it\u2019s more just being aware of those thoughts and then not letting it crash your day or ruin the work that you\u2019re doing, and bringing it back to what I\u2019m doing now, and the process.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Considering her many difficulties, an obvious question is whether sports psychology or therapy have been a part of her life over the past few years. \u201cI\u2019ve tried. I\u2019ve tried,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve obviously been recommended to do it a lot, with what I went through. It was something that not many people, well actually, no one has gone through, which is probably the reason I did two sessions and I stopped. I was like: \u2018Look, these guys, they don\u2019t relate.\u2019 And, to be honest, no other athlete has done what I\u2019ve done, so I don\u2019t know why I\u2019m taking advice from them. So I was like: \u2018OK, well, the only person who can help me is myself.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n For a long time the four defining cities of Raducanu\u2019s life were listed in her biographies across her social media platforms. Her parents, Ion and Renee, originally come from Bucharest, Romania, and Shenyang, China, respectively while she was born in Toronto, Canada, and grew up in London, England. Her mother\u2019s solo immigration from China to Canada has been an inspirational tale throughout her life. \u201cI would say it\u2019s funny when people ask where you\u2019re from,\u201d she says. \u201cObviously, I feel British. I\u2019ve grown up there, But there are certain things, the way I think, I don\u2019t think I am completely. So you have a little question about your identity. But I try not to read too much into it and try to just take the best from all the different worlds that I\u2019ve been exposed to and grown up in.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of the subject at hand, Raducanu frequently notes the support and significance of her parents. She describes her upbringing as rigid and strict, but their tough love has made her the person she is today. \u201cI was always brought up with really high standards, high expectations of myself, not much sympathy,\u201d says Raducanu. \u201cSo when I was younger, that was tough, and even now. But I think it really shaped me to be the player I am, the person I am; pretty down to earth. They never got impressed by anything glitzy or high or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Emma Raducanu during her narrow defeat by Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati Open. Photograph: Dylan Buell\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Both Raducanu\u2019s parents worked in finance and they passed on their numerical, logical mindsets. Over the past few years, however, part of her evolution as an adult has been understanding herself as a person. Her injury layoff in 2023, which initially seemed like a catastrophe, turned out to be essential for her personal development. Raducanu spent her time away from tennis travelling, including a long trip to China, trying different hobbies and gradually learning more about herself. She learned that she is also creative, which has significantly influenced her playing style on the court. \u201cI kind of discovered the more artistic side \u2013 the piano, the painting, the reading, the philosophy, all of those things,\u201d she says. \u201cI really think it opened my eyes to another world. Now I\u2019m kind of seeing how I can find an area where those two intersect, and have the creative side but also have the quantitative side.\u201d<\/p>\n With age and experience, Raducanu also has a greater understanding of her preferences when making general decisions. While discussing her decision making, Raducanu\u2019s mind shifts to another source of criticism: her coaching history. \u201cI\u2019m a lot more clear on what I do and don\u2019t like,\u201d she says. \u201cThe experiences that I\u2019ve had with different coaches \u2026 People love to say I\u2019ve had so many different coaches but if I went into the details of a lot of them, people would not be saying the same thing. I just don\u2019t do that, because I don\u2019t want to \u201cout\u201d these people. So I keep it to myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Is it ever tempting? \u201cWhen you see things like: \u2018Oh, Emma on her ninth coach\u2019, I\u2019m like: \u2018Guys, come on.\u2019 Certain ones don\u2019t count. If you\u2019ve had a trial, you don\u2019t have to carry on after the trial. A few have been trials, a few have been other situations. I just try and take the high road,\u201d she says. Then she laughs. \u201cAnd try to do what the royal family would do.\u201d<\/p>\n After years of rolling with the punches and gradually coming to understand herself, Raducanu seems to finally be in a positive place again. She speaks effusively about the great enjoyment she has found in her consistent daily work and she has thrown herself into becoming the best player she can be each day. Raducanu\u2019s results are reflective of that shift and her ranking is on the rise. Her time in Cincinnati, her first week with her new coach, Francisco Roig, ended with a colossal three-hour battle<\/a> with Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, where she narrowly lost 7-6 (5) in the final set. Over the next few days, she will return to New York for the US Open more self-assured than she has been since she won the title.<\/p>\n Our second conversation ends with a final question on Raducanu\u2019s ambitions for the next few years beyond her results. After a beat, she shrugs. The hope, she says, is that the passion and joy she now feels each day about her daily work will endure. \u201cI want to continue for the next few years to just keep enjoying because I would rather not do anything else or be anywhere else,\u201d she says. \u201cI see my friends, like, somewhere in the south of France, and they\u2019re chilling on a boat or whatever, and I\u2019m just like: \u2018OK, well, it looks amazing,\u2019 but when I\u2019m putting in double session practices with the people around laughing, that fills me up so much more. So I\u2019m really happy to have gotten to this place and [I want] to just continue that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For four arduous years, so much of Emma Raducanu\u2019s life has played out in public. 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