EMMA RADUCANU says her tennis results were impacted by off-field commercial activities following the fairytale US Open win.
When she incredibly became Queen of New York aged 18 in September 2021, Raducanu became a multimillionaire overnight – and a marketing man’s dream.
Brands such as British Airways, Dior, HSBC, Porsche, Tiffany & Co and Vodafone chucked enormous amounts of cash in her direction.
But in return, they all wanted her time in front of the cameras, so they could place her image on billboards and TV ads.
Three years on, Raducanu – one of the top-10 highest-earning female athletes around – now realises how much it disrupted her ability to balance training and matches.
Raducanu, 22, said: “I’m obviously very grateful and fortunate to have had certain experiences and opportunities but I wasn’t prepared for it.
“You know, in my head it was like: ‘Okay, I wake up, I play tennis. I go to the gym. I go home and I don’t have anything else to do’.
“Especially straight after I did really well, for the next few years, it was very much like there was so much communication about things off the court. And I would always, always give my 100 per cent 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.
“I think now I’m a lot more structured. I’ll be like: ‘Okay, I have this time where one hour we will talk about business. And now I’m going to train for the rest of the week’. Also I think I’ve learned how to say no a bit more.
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“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.
“I’d always want to do extra if they wanted to do another half day. I would do it and I’d fit it in around my schedule. I would put my practices early and then do that in the afternoon.
“Look, if it’s a last-minute thing, I’m always going to try and do my best to give extra to the brands I’m working with.
“Especially since I had a year off pretty much with injuries. But also just putting myself first a little bit more.”
This Friday, Raducanu flies to New Zealand – with new fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura – to begin her prep for the 2025 season, which she hopes is free from injuries and knocks.
Christmas Day will be spent on an Auckland beach rather than in the wintry cold of London but that is the life of a top-end tennis player.
Raducanu, ranked 57th in the world, said: “My best friend lives in Auckland.
“The last two years I’ve been with her and her family, and we go up north an hour.
Different Christmas
She has a little beach hut. It’s different. It’s like a hot Christmas with a barbecue on the beach.
“It’s just different for someone who grew up in London. December in London is my favourite time of year.
“But I guess I’m just gonna make peace for the next 10 or 15 years and then I’ll come back and have a cold Christmas.”
Raducanu has recently dealt with a few bumps as she had her beloved Porsche “taken back” by the luxury car manufacturers.
The Bromley star owned a £125,000 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet, with a top speed of 192mph, which was her pride and joy.
And Raducanu was warned she risks losing all of her £9m sponsorship deals unless she starts winning again.
