Emma Raducanu says sometimes she wishes she never won the US Open, says she has been ‘burnt a few times’

Emma Raducanu has criticised “sharks” who “see me as a piggy bank” and admitted she has sometimes wished she never won the US Open after being «burnt a few times». Raducanu became an overnight sensation when she defied all odds to come through qualifying and win her first major aged 18 in September 2021 in New York. Ad The Brit’s miraculous run saw her become the first qualifier to win a major in the Open era, the youngest women’s singles Grand Slam winner since 2004 and the first British woman to win the tournament since Virginia Wade in 1968 – and she did so without dropping a set.

WimbledonWhen is Wimbledon? What's the schedule? When is the draw?15/06/2023 AT 14:46 However, Raducanu has since struggled with the pressure of living up to those standards, facing issues with form and fitness as she slid to a current ranking of world No. 128. In an in-depth interview with The Sunday Times, the 20-year-old explained that she feels she always has to be on guard.

“When I won I was extremely naive,” Raducanu told The Sunday Times. “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. “It has been difficult to navigate. I have been burnt a few times.