Emma Raducanu: "My dad would do lessons with me in the backyard, it's good to play tennis with family and a great feeling when you beat them"
Emma Raducanu’s time at the ASB Classic was cut short by Elina Svitolina, who took a 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-1 victory in the second round on Thursday (January 4).
Raducanu will be hopeful of recovering from the loss quickly as she continues her comeback. Having first broken out on the tennis scene during her fairytale run at the 2021 US Open, the Brit has been sidelined over the last few months with multiple injuries.
Raducanu, however, continues to inspire a whole generation of tennis players back home in the UK. In a recent conversation with young aspiring tennis players, the Brit spoke on a range of topics, including her tennis beginnings.
Raducanu revealed that she began playing tennis with her father in the backyard, underlying the importance of family engagement. She also said playing with family makes things light and fun.
“My dad would do lessons with me in the backyard. And I think it is good for everyone to play tennis with the families because it makes it fun and it is always a great feeling when you can beat them,” Emma Raducanu was quoted as saying in a video posted on social media by LTA.
Raducanu added that her father drove her to multiple tennis clubs, but she picked the one with four other girls as it made her feel “comfortable” in the squad.
“My dad drove me to a lot of different clubs and the one I picked was the one that had four girls in it,” Emma Raducanu said. “I did not think about the tennis, the coaching, whatever, as long as there were girls so I felt more comfortable in the squad.”
"Winning the US Open at 18, it was a quick turnaround" - Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu also spoke about her early days, saying it was not until the age of 17 that she decided to make a full-time career in tennis.
The Brit went on to joke that winning the US Open as a young qualifier just over a year later made for a quick “turnaround”.
“Maybe 17, so it was quite late actually,” Emma Raducanu said. “Winning the US Open at 18, it was a quick turnaround.”
The youngster said her time on the tennis court has taught her numerous values, foremost of which was resilience and the will to get back up after each disappointment and setback.
“Resilience, for sure, is one of them, in all walks of life, not just tennis. You can apply it to everything and when injuries happen, when disappointments happen, it is just so important to get back up no matter how many times,” she added.