‘One of the Biggest Sacrifices I Had to Make’- Emma Raducanu Says She Never Had School-Friends

Emma Raducanu, through her sensational performances since her debut, has cemented herself as one of the most promising next-generation players. In just four years of professional tennis, she has claimed a Grand Slam title and achieved a career-high ranking of world no.10.

Further, she is currently holding the title of British No.1 and is the first English WTA player to bring a Grand Slam home since 1977. All these achievements are a sign of a future superstar in the making.

What tennis took away from Emma Raducanu

Recently, while addressing some students studying at Wolverley Secondary School, Raducanu shared some details of her life. She spoke about how her decisions panned out and affected her life. When asked about her biggest sacrifice, she said, “one of the biggest things for me was probably during my school. Because I was missing so much school from like 8.”

“And you know how the secondary school is. All the kind of friendship groups are formed in year 7, 8, 9. And they are constantly changing in those early few years. So if you are not there, you kind of get isolated and forgotten about,” she added.

Thereafter, Raducanu admitted, “I sort of made peace with that later on. But I’d say that not having as many friends from school is probably one of the biggest sacrifices I had to make.”

Read more: ‘People Might Look at Me Like I’m Crazy’ – Emma Raducanu Backs Herself Despite Backlash Over Coaching Changes

The 19-year-old tennis star has already proven her caliber. However, injuries and inconsistent stints with various coaches have affected her form in the current season. Apart from appearing in quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open, she hasn’t made any noteworthy run in any tournaments.

What lies ahead?

After giving a subpar performance in the Wimbledon championships, the world no.10 is gearing up for the US Open in which she shined last year. However, before starting her title defense at Flushing Meadows, she has signed up for the 10th edition of the Citi Open. The WTA 250 tournament will take place in the indoor hard courts of Washington D.C.

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In the tournament, the Brit will lock horns with Louisa Chirico for a seat in the round of 16. Speaking of Chirico, the American has played two qualifiers to book a match with Raducanu. They will test their skills against each other for the first time on 2nd August.