Emma Raducanu’s love of tennis may not be all it seems after the one-time wonder dropped the bombshell hint that her career was not of her own making.
The 2021 US Open winner who shocked the world by lifting the trophy from a qualifying start, revealed to British media that she was certainly not keen on tennis as a youngster in suburban London.
Instead, it was her all-powerful Romanian father who seemed to be pulling the strings from behind the curtain and striking it lucky when his teenaged daughter struck Grand Slam gold in New York.
“At the start my dad forced me into tennis,” the one-time Top 10 contender said.
“I didn’t like it, but then as I got older and tennis became more of a priority, I was pushing myself.
“(My parents) – her mother is Chinese – 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.”
The 21-year-old revealed that her parents even kept control over her social life as a teen so that it would not interfere with the tennis indoctrination.
“They were very much against (boyfriends)] as (that) interfered with training. When I was younger I wasn’t even allowed to hang out with my girlfriends.”
She added: “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 rise and fall have been legendary, with her current 212th ranking apparently so disillusioning that she is not even bothering the French Open qualifying and instead spinning her pullout as good preparation for the British-centric grass season.
.Meanwhile one of her top line sponsors, international bank HSBC said it is sticking with Raducanu despite her two-plus year rankings crash.
“In any walk of life, we experience unexpected pivotal moments,” a top bank boss said. .
“In just a few years, Emma’s career has seen her experience both the highest of highs and moments of uncertainty.
“At HSBC, we understand that life is rarely a straight line and we’re proud to be supporting Emma on every stage of her journey.”
The GBP 10 million Raducanu earned from sponsorships in recent seasons is salted away in her own management company, of which she is the sole director.
Top companies who vaulted onto the bandwagon after her US Open surprise at the cost of multi-millions include Wilson, Nike, British Airways, Evian, Tiffany, Dior, HSBC, Vodafone and Porsche.
