"It must have been hard for Emma to win a Grand Slam so young": Krejcikova empathizes with Raducanu over high expectations post-slam

Barbora Krejcikova spoke about the difficulties that players face after winning a Grand Slam, especially young ones like Emma Raducanu, who must deal with high expectations early in their careers.

The Czech No. 31 just won her second Grand Slam at 28 years old, defeating Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon final 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Krejcikova had previously won the French Open in 2021 at 25, several years after her professional debut in 2012.

However, many Grand Slam winners achieve glory very early in their careers. The most emblematic is Emma Raducanu with her unexpected run at the 2021 US Open, advancing from the qualifiers to win her first Slam title at just 18 years old.

Since then, Raducanu has struggled in the following years to achieve good results, plagued by injuries and has not reached another tournament final: "It must have been hard for Emma to win a Grand Slam so young with the expectations and all that,” Barbora Krejcikova said.

“Me, I was 25 and it was good timing. I was able to manage it and carry on having good results and got to be No.2 in the world. You have to be able to be a leader. Some have that in them. Others are followers.”

“We sometimes have the impression that agencies decide who is going to be a leader. Some take it on, but that can kill others. But I ask myself: do we worry about the quality of tennis or your status on social media?” Krejcikova added.