Resilience

Emma Raducanu has revealed that she was prohibited from having boyfriends and felt “forced” into tennis during her childhood. The former US Open champion shared insights into her challenging path to professional tennis, which occasionally caused friction with her “pushy” parents. In an interview with The Times, Raducanu explained, “At the start, my dad forced me into tennis. I didn’t like it, but as I got older and tennis became more of a priority, I started pushing myself.” She described her parents as “pushy,” especially when she was younger, noting that now they advise her on what they think is best but recognize that excessive pressure leads to resistance.

Raducanu also mentioned that her rigorous training schedule left no time for boyfriends and limited her social interactions. “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,” she said. This led to feelings of resentment, but she believes it also made her confident and comfortable in her own company. Following her breakthrough, Raducanu experienced a series of disappointing results and endured an eight-month injury hiatus due to wrist and ankle surgeries.