Emma Raducanu claims she was banned from having boyfriends and ‘forced’ into tennis as a youngster. The one-time US Open champion has opened up on the route into professional tennis which, at times, created ‘resentment’ between her and her ‘pushy’ parents.
Raducanu was living a life unlike many her age when, at 18 years old, she made it to the Wimbledon fourth round as a wildcard. She followed that up by becoming the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title after going all the way at Flushing Meadows.
Born in Toronto, Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother, Raducanu moved to the UK at the age of two and stepped onto a tennis court for the first time only three years later.
“At the start my dad forced me into tennis,” she told The Times. “I didn’t like it, but then as I got older and tennis became more of a priority, I was pushing myself.
“[My parents] are so pushy. When I was younger more so. Now they are at a place where they tell me what they think is best, but they realise ultimately that the more they push the more I am going to resist.
“I’ve seen some great people who I was playing with in the juniors who had way more lenient parents who were like, ‘It’s OK if you lost’, and those players don’t play tennis anymore, so I don’t blame my parents for it.”
Raducanu claims that her demanding training schedule left no time for boyfriends and little room for friends of any description as she attempted to worm her way into the professional ranks.
The 21-year-old continued: “My parents were very much against [boyfriends] as it interfered with training. When I was younger I wasn’t even allowed to hang out with my girlfriends. A lot of the time I was very resentful. But it made me very confident and comfortable in my own company, which is also a big strength.”
Raducanu’s breakthrough was followed by an underwhelming string of results and an eight-month injury absence after undergoing wrist and ankle surgery. The youngster enjoyed promising runs at Indian Wells and in Stuttgart earlier this season, but a disappointing first-round exit at the Madrid Open is said to have knocked her confidence.
The Brit hasn’t played competitively in almost a month, and she has now chosen to skip qualifying for the French Open in a bid to return for the grass-court season in top condition.
