Emma Raducanu opens up on ‘intense’ adaptation to fame – ‘So much stuff is said about me that isn’t true’

Emma Raducanu has revealed how the attention that has come her way from being on the WTA Tour in 2022 has been “so intense”, as she stated her belief that so much written about her “isn’t true”.

The 20-year-old, who was catapulted to global fame after winning the US Open in 2021, has endured a number of injuries in her first full year on tour, as she fell from as high as No. 10 in the world to her current rank of 74.

Raducanu has not played since early October and missed the recent Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow due to a wrist injury.

“So much stuff is said about me that isn’t true, but I try not to let it affect me.

“The past year has meant getting used to that side of things – the publicity and hearing all these things I never even knew about myself.

“The attention on the tour is so intense.”

Raducanu added that avoiding injury is top of her wishlist in 2023, as she gets ready to embark on another long season travelling around the globe.

“I can’t quite believe we’re at that stage again – the last 12 months have gone so fast,” she said.

“My biggest goal in 2023 is to be more injury-free. I just want to stay healthier for longer.

“This year, the demands of the tour, going from having no training or stamina to being thrown into competing at the top level, my body has struggled.”

Raducanu will start her 2023 WTA season at the ASB Women’s Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.

The British No. 1 will join world No. 7 Coco Gauff, former US Open champion Sloane Stephens, and Leylah Fernandez, who Raducanu beat in the 2021 US Open final, at the WTA 250 event.

Raducanu will be hoping to go far in the tournament to build confidence ahead of the Australian Open, which is set to get underway in Melbourne on January 16th.

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