‘I think perseverance and resilience is one of my biggest strengths,’ Emma Raducanu boldly claimed at the start of this year. ‘Although I’ve had great successes there have also been so many different setbacks.’
In that short film, entitled ‘Fighting Back’, Raducanu spoke philosophically about the external scrutiny on her career and her life, her hunger to return to the top of the sport and the amount of work she has had to put in in a bid to put her injury problems behind her.
She smiled, often, content that her post-surgery troubles – she had had minor surgery on three limbs last year – were now behind her. For 9:11 magazine, Raducanu’s Redemption made for a compelling tale to tell.
And yet here we are, and here she is, again, just three months on. Injured. Sidelined. Familiar criticisms, often unfair, are again hurled in her direction.
This time it’s the Miami Open she has preemptively withdrawn from due to a lower back injury, albeit not a serious one her representatives were quick to point out
Nonetheless, it’s an injury to add to the collection, one few her age can come close to competing with. At 288th in the world, more often than not these days it feels like she loses momentum climbing the mountain by the time she sets foot out of base camp.
There is a pang of sadness in seeing Raducanu navigate the perils of professional sport in the eye of the public. That’s what winning a Slam as a qualifier will do to you. Everything changes. Expectations elevate. Mega-money brand deals follow and later become an easy stick to beat you with.
To the total of around £12million a year, Raducanu is a brand ambassador for Porsche, while also working with Nike, British Airways, Evian, Dior, Tiffany’s, HSBC and Vodafone.
She has long fired back at criticism of her commercial activities – most recently when appearing at a glitzy dinner in Dubai alongside Naomi Campbell for the launch of a new hotel – by claiming she practises for ’12 hours a day’ and can do as she pleases in her free time.
‘The only difference,’ she told The Times, ‘is my dinners go public.’
When you play and you win, whatever you do off court is by-the-by. Few care. It’s when you don’t win, and you don’t play, that criticism intensifies.
Now, a realistic estimate before Raducanu returns to the court is probably three weeks, should she go ahead and play in the Billie Jean King Cup for Great Britain. Given she is through just 10 matches to date in 2024 – winning five – another disrupted, injury-interrupted campaign looks to lie in wait.
Raducanu talks of her hunger, her appetite to play tennis, the love she has for tennis and the competition aspect. Sources across the WTA Tour have spoken of her infectious smile but frequent injury can be draining. Could it be that the fear of injury is playing on her mind?
