Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu said she sometimes wishes she had not won the Grand Slam due to the pressure that came with the success and instant fame.The then 18-year-old surged out of nowhere to win the 2021 tournament in style, without dropping a single set during the nine matches she played before the final, but could not follow up on that success due to recurrent injuries."That moment on the court, when I was celebrating, I was like, I would literally trade any struggle in the world for this moment," Raducanu told the Sunday Times."Since then I've had a lot of setbacks, one after the other.
I am resilient, my tolerance is high, but it's not easy. And sometimes I think to myself I wish I'd never won the U.S. Open."The win came with praise but also exposed Raducanu to a previously unknown world, often ruthless and paved with expectations."I had to mature very quickly.
When I won I was extremely naive," Raducanu said."What I have realised in the past two years, the tour and everything that comes with it, it's not a very nice, trusting and safe space.
You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there."I think people in the industry, especially with me because I was 19, now 20, they see me as a piggy bank.