Given the occasion, a few things that tennis player Emma Raducanu has experienced in the past four weeks: She won the US Open. Presented a very cool outfit at the Met Gala in New York. Jewelry presented by the jeweler Tiffany’s. on Instagram gained more than two million subscribers. Received a message of greeting from the Queen. Played a little tennis with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. A photo series from the British edition of the fashion magazine Vogue completed. The premiere of the new James Bond adventure was honored at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Andrew Richardson’s contract not renewed.
And because Raducanu lost 2: 6, 4: 6 against Alexandra Sasnowitsch at the tournament in Indian Wells on Friday evening, it must also be mentioned that there is one thing that she has still not succeeded in doing in her 18-year-old life: a game on the women’s tour WTA to be won from the 250 category. Because the US Open is not part of the official WTA calendar as a Grand Slam event. An anomaly – like the fact that this loss of the first round to Sasnovich was her first set loss since the Challenger tournament in Chicago in August. At the US Open, including qualification, she hadn’t given a single set in ten games.
You shouldn’t overestimate all of this, and that’s exactly why Emma Raducanu asked after the defeat: “I’m only 18 years old, that’s still all new to me,” she said. “This is my first time playing in Indian Wells and I have to to get used to the conditions. I’m so inexperienced, I’ll take it all with me. I’m glad that happened what happened today – I can learn from it, it goes into the experience piggy bank. “
Raducanu announced the trip to the Transylvania Open at the end of October in Romanian
In fact, she hadn’t played well and already looked nervous in the first set after her opponent broke. Sasnovich, on the other hand, had a splendid day. The set ball in the first round provided an example: Raducanu was aggressive, played himself in front of the net, put the opponent under pressure – but her embarrassed praise dripped into the field. Or in set two, when it looked as if Sasnowitsch were threatened with problems when serving: Raducanu attacked, more precise volley – but the Belarusian pass was even more precise. Finally the point about the match point: Sasnovich received two, three, four, five furious blows from Raducanu – and ended the point with a backhand stop. “She was just very, very good,” said Raducanu afterwards.
The field in women’s tennis is currently outstanding and particularly well-balanced at the top; In the past five years, 15 different players have won the 19 Grand Slam tournaments.
Emma Raducanu is one of those personalities known as a globally marketable athlete. The British, born in Canada, is the daughter of a Chinese (she announced her participation in tournaments in Asia in Mandarin) and a Romanian; She announced the trip to the Transylvania Open at the end of October in Romanian. Industry insiders estimate it could generate $ 1 billion in revenue on and off the field. What causes such an abrupt rise, especially for a young woman who only knew tennis insiders before the US Open?
A trip to the red carpet: Emma Raducanu was one of the celebrities at the premiere of the new James Bond film “No Time To Die” at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
(Photo: Toby Melville / Reuters)
“The iron is hot and we forge it,” said Max Eisenbud recently New York Times. The manager has already turned Li Na (China) and Maria Sharapova (Russia) into global stars. Sharapova was only 17 years old when she won Wimbledon in 2004: “The difference: social media. Everything happens at the speed of light.” The most important term in Eisenbud’s vocabulary, as he already showed in Na and Sharapova, is “no”. He is a master at turning down offers. But he understood like only a few: these days professional athletes no longer define themselves only by trophies in their closets.
In the case of Raducanu, that means: why not train with Duchess Kate or attend the Met Gala now? “I love experiences like this, but I also know that I have to go back to the place where I belong,” she said. The tournament in Indian Wells is an exception due to the pandemic; it usually takes place in spring, followed by competitions in Eastern Europe and Asia. After that there is a break and then work for the new season begins. This is the time to really develop yourself further in sports.
“Everything from now on is a bonus”
Raducanu is not the first player to make a meteoric rise in recent years. Naomi Osaka (Japan) and Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) were each 20 years old when they won their first Grand Slam, Bianca Andreescu (Canada) when they won the US Open in 2019 was only 19. This first Grand Slam success can be one To be a burden, but also a release. The Czech Karolina Pliskova, 29, is chasing this title almost desperately. Raducanu says of himself: “I don’t feel any pressure, I feel more liberated. Everything from now on is a bonus.”
Today’s professional athletes often no longer want to be perceived as just athletes. It seems all the more important to find a balance between sport and the rest. A cautionary example is the four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka, who declared at the US Open that she did not enjoy tennis at the age of 23; she had burdened herself with a great deal of responsibility with social activities. Raducanu says she wants to be active off the field – but less politically; she would rather work to encourage people to exercise more and eat better. Everything else has time, she still has to learn.
She sounds very grown up when she speaks, smart and considered. She already knows what she wants, and that’s how the breakup from Coach Richardson went. She hadn’t given him notice, the contract had expired, and she said quite soberly: “I now need someone who has experience on the tour.” She finally wants to win matches on the WTA Tour. Your next chances: the Kremlin Cup in Moscow and then the tournament in Romania. That too goes into the memory piggy bank.