Emma Raducanu says she was more nervous taking pictures at the Met Gala than she was playing at Arthur Ashe Stadium
For Emma Raducanu, the last few weeks have been the busiest of her life. From completing a historic run at the 2021 US Open to giving morning talk show interviews and attending her first Met Gala, Raducanu has had a packed itinerary.
The Brit phenomenon, however, has taken all the frenetic events in her stride. Describing her last 72 hours as "fun and exciting" in a recent interview with WTA Insider's Courtney Ngyuen, Raducanu said she was having an amazing time in New York despite her busy schedule.
"I feel great," Raducanu said. "Everything that's happened in the last 72 hours has been so much fun and really exciting. It's been busy, but I can't complain at all because I've just been having such an amazing time and experience in New York."
The 18-year-old went on to reveal she wasn't aware of all the off-court duties that came along with winning a Slam. She did, however, add that getting to do all the "really cool things" was a nice little bonus.
"When I was younger and I watched older players win Slams, that was just the dream, the Slam on its own, the achievement, sharing it with the team and relatives and friends," Raducanu said. "But it's just an added bonus, isn't it, all of the really cool things you get to do."
Emma Raducanu also spoke about the experiecne of attending her first Met Gala, joking that she was more nervous getting photographed at the grand event than she was playing at Arshur Ashe. The youngster added that it was slightly "intimidating" at the start, but that she was able to adapt to the situation fairly quickly.
"It was funny because I was more nervous standing and waiting to take the photos at the Met than going out onto Ashe," Raducanu joked. "Because it was such a different experience. "
"It was a bit more intimidating at the start but then I feel like I've learned that I can adapt quite quickly and learn on the job," she added.
"The biggest thing is that I never once got ahead of myself" - Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu also reflected on her recent success, including the incredible run at Flushing Meadows. The Brit believes her time away from the court prior to this season had fuelled her "hunger".
Raducanu approached the tournament one match at a time, drawing satisfaction from every little improvement she made over the summer. The teenager added that she only focussed on her immediate next opponent and never got too far ahead of herself.
That, according to her, was instrumental in her being able to maintain her level throughout.
"Having 18 months away from the sport, coming out you play every match like you don't know when your last match will be," Raducanu said. "That was how I was approaching the whole summer. I was so grateful to be back on the match court competing again and the joy and satisfaction that I was getting from the improvements I was seeing with every match."
"The biggest thing is that I never once got ahead of myself," she added. "For three weeks I just played the opponent in front of me, I took care of what I wanted to try and achieve on that day against that opponent."