Emma Raducanu reveals off-court duties probably negatively impacted her rise following her 2021 US Open triumph but adds that she has since learned “how to say no” and now she believes she is in a much better position to succeed.
Shortly after becoming a Grand Slam champion in a historic way, the 22-year-old landed endorsement deals with some of the most prestigious brands in the world, including Dior, Tiffany & Co., Porsche, etc.
While she was doing great in the business part, her results weren’t that great and that led to some claiming she wasn’t interested in tennis that much anymore.
However, Raducanu never agreed with that accusation. And even now, she says that she has always been giving her absolute best but some things simply needed to be cut out.
While she still works with some of the world’s most renowned brands, she thinks there’s a strong balance between her tennis career and sponsorship commitments.
Emma Raducanu© Emma Raducanu/Instagram – Fair Use
Raducanu: I have learned how to say no
“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 percent 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,” the British tennis star explained.
“I think now I’m a lot more structured. I’ll be like: ‘OK, I have this time where one hour we will talk about business. And now I’m going to go train for the rest of the week’. Also I think I’ve learned how to say no a bit more. 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.”
Meanwhile, Raducanu landed in Australia, where she will do some work before flying to New Zealand to kick off her 2025 season in Auckland in late December.
Tennis World USA