"I felt envy, there were parties I couldn't go to" - Emma Raducanu reflects on how her early life revolved around tennis and school
Emma Raducanu opened up about how her childhood revolved around school and tennis. The British star said she felt "envy" for the parties she could not attend but acknowledged that since she had never been to one, she could not miss what she had not experienced.
Raducanu turned pro in 2018 and won her first title that year, an ITF $15K event. The highlight of her career came in 2021 when she won the US Open, at 18, breaking several records.
She was the first British woman to win a major singles title in over 53 years and the first player in the Open Era to win a Major as a qualifier. She was awarded an MBE in November 2022 in recognition of her historic win.
Such success does not come easy, and Emma Raducanu's early start and sacrifices highlight her dedication. In an interview with Women's Health published on October 10, Raducanu discussed feeling "envy" for parties she couldn't attend.
"There were certain moments where I felt envy - like when there were parties that I couldn't go to, but at the end of the day, I didn’t know any different. You don’t miss what you don’t know. I knew I wanted to be the best and I knew what I needed to do to get there, so I didn’t think of it as a sacrifice," Raducanu said.
"Newstead [a selective girls' grammar school in London] is pretty demanding, so it wasn’t like I could take it easy off the court, either. I put all my time into tennis or school, but it was good to have those two different worlds: school and tennis. Each was a break from the other," she added.
Emma Raducanu started playing tennis at the age of 5
Emma Raducanu was born in Toronto, Canada, on November 13, 2002, and moved to the UK at the age of two. She picked up a tennis racket at five and has been dedicated to the sport ever since.
She credited her parents for her focus in life. In 2021, she told PEOPLE:
"[My parents are] really good at keeping me on the ground and really good at keeping me focused and just plugging away a day at a time, not getting too high with the wins or too low with the losses."
Raducanu reflected on her childhood, noting that she often spent time alone while her parents worked full-time. She trained rigorously, playing tennis early in the morning and late at night. However, looking back, she expresses deep gratitude for her parents' sacrifices.