Prior to August 2021, Emma Raducanu was a name recognized exclusively by tennis enthusiasts. Born in Canada and representing Britain, Raducanu turned pro in 2018, clinching her debut tournament in May. Her unexpected inclusion in the British Fed Cup team saw her hailed as the British player with the most promise of her generation, according to the Telegraph.
However, life for the now 22-year-old Raducanu can be distinctly divided into two parts: before and after her astonishing US Open win in 2021. The New York victory was nothing short of a fairytale, with the 150-ranked qualifier stunning the tennis world by winning ten matches without dropping a set. Her final match was watched with bated breath across the UK, a level of tennis fever not seen since the days of Andy Murray.
The morning after her victory, Raducanu woke up a bonafide star, her face splashed across every newspaper with headlines hailing her miraculous win. The Bromley teenager had catapulted from a promising talent to a Grand Slam champion, the first British woman to achieve this in 44 years. Her triumph saw her surge 332 places in rankings, receive a congratulatory message from the late Queen Elizabeth II, and an MBE. The Sunday Times named her Sportswoman of the Year and the Guardian ranked her final as the 47th best TV show of the year.
Yet, the world of tennis is a fickle one, and Raducanu quickly discovered that success can be a double-edged sword. Less than two weeks post her US Open win, she suffered a straight-sets defeat in the opening match of the delayed Indian Wells tournament. While initially dismissed as a post-victory hangover, this marked the beginning of a series of defeats that put her career trajectory under scrutiny.
The spotlight on Raducanu intensified following an unsettling incident at the Dubai Championships in February, where she was approached by a stalker, breaching the sanctity of the tennis court and adding to her mounting worries. Despite her attempts to shake off this experience and rediscover her winning form, Raducanu has struggled to replicate her US Open success.
Three years have passed since Raducanu’s last final, and she has yet to make it past round four in WTA 100 events. Despite changing coaches, undergoing surgeries, and experimenting with different types of balls, her Grand Slam-winning form continues to evade her.
This raises an intriguing question: Who is the real Emma Raducanu? Is it the US Open champion or the player who continually exits tournaments in the early stages? The US Open victory, while a career-defining moment, has also been a curse, setting unrealistically high expectations for Raducanu.
As she continues to battle not just her opponents but also the weight of her own success, there’s no denying that Raducanu has had an impressive career. She’s one of only 131 women to have won a Grand Slam, has made 11 Grand Slam appearances, and amassed $4,685,567 in prize money. However, her early success has cast a long shadow, amplifying each defeat and raising questions about her future in the sport.
At 22, time is still on Raducanu’s side, but as each year passes, it’s becoming increasingly clear that her US Open victory might have been more of a fairytale than an indication of her true potential.
