"I'm a big motorsports fan so maybe get my motorbike licence - something speedy and fun" - Emma Raducanu on her off-court interests
Emma Raducanu became an overnight sensation after she became the first woman to win the US Open straight from qualifying. In a recent interview, the Brit revealed her interests away from the court.
While speaking to Sky Sports, the 19-year-old confessed that she is a big fan of motorsport and that she will be looking to obtain her motorbike license now that she has a driver's license.
"I'm a big adrenaline junkie," she said. "I have my driver's licence but I'm a big motorsports fan so maybe get my motorbike licence - something speedy and fun."
Raducanu's success prompted a lot of media attention in the ensuing months, including that of England rugby coach Eddie Jones. The Brit went through a bit of a lull in form following her remarkable US Open triumph, which Jones claimed was due to her being distracted by off-court activities.
The 19-year-old said the only opinions that matter to her are those of her close circle, and the only expectations she is paying attention to are her own.
"To me the things that matter are the expectations of myself and what I want to achieve and what I want to get out of the day," she said. "It's just about improving and seeing yourself get better and I don't take anyone else's opinions into account except for my close circle."
British teenage sensation Emma Raducanu speaks to Sky News presenter Jacquie Beltrao about her fairytale year, which ended in Grand Slam glory at the US Open.
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"I arrived in New York just hoping to get through qualifying" - Emma Raducanu
During the interview, Emma Raducanu also spoke about her incredible run at the 2021 US Open. The Brit asserted that she had very few expectations of herself at the start of the tournament, and that she enjoyed her time despite the pressure on her.
"I arrived in New York just hoping to get through qualifying maybe. I was pretty tired," she said. "I just had the most amazing time and I think the key to that was I just focused on the day."
"The time flew by, It went so fast by the end of it I was like, 'I don't wanna leave yet, I wanna stay', and it was getting to the latter stages of the tournament and I was thinking, 'but, what if? You're here, so why not?'. But no one made a big deal of it," Emma Raducanu added.
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The Brit did reveal, however, that by the second week of the tournament she had become superstitious and was looking forward to playing in front of the large crowds she was initially intimidated by.
"It wasn't until maybe the last week when I thought 'Ok' - I was having poke for dinner every single night for three weeks, because I didn't want to take any chances," she said. "I definitely felt I faced my own sort of obstacles and the way I overcame those. For example, the first time I stepped out onto Ashe I was quite nervous and didn't realise until I started and got off to a slow start, and then the way I overcame that - by the end I was completely thriving out there in front of so many people."