Christine Truman: ‘Watching Emma Raducanu brought back memories’

A year ago Emma Raducanu was focused on her A-levels. Most aspiring tennis players need to have a backup plan. A talented junior, Raducanu was not being touted as the next big thing even by those within tennis. And then came Wimbledon, breakthrough wins and an abrupt fourth-round exit that put her on the front pages, before that incredible, magical run to the US Open title.

While some parts of Raducanu’s story are wildly different from previous eras, Christine Truman finds echoes. “Watching Emma Raducanu in 2021 making her Wimbledon debut as an 18-year-old girl brought back memories of my own debut at 16 in 1957,” she writes in her new memoir, Christine Truman to Serve. Truman was – still is – the youngest British semi-finalist in the women’s singles since Lottie Dod in 1887. “Like Emma I was unseeded with no expectation, but two weeks later everyone knew my name.”

Two years later Truman reached a ranking of world No 2 and became the youngest women’s singles champion at the French Open. Her prize? A £40 voucher.

When Truman is asked whether she felt pressure walking on to Centre Court, she smiles, a little perplexed: “Pressure? I did not feel pressure. I wasn’t thinking about what pressure was. I was just thinking: ‘I’ve been practising for this, I’ve been dreaming of this. Here I am. I’m going to play on Centre Court. Wow. Terrific. This is what I’ve been waiting for.’ When I lost in the semi-final I was miserable.

“Straight after the match I was invited by Princess Marina to the royal box to celebrate. ‘What are we celebrating?’ I thought. I just lost. It didn’t occur to me that getting to the semi-final was an achievement in itself. No. I was upset because my mind was set on being the best tennis player in the world.”