Billie Jean King has offered Emma Raducanu some advice on dealing with the 'tough' lifestyle required to be an athlete.
Over the last couple of years, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu has struggled to get back to the form that saw her win her only major title to date at just 18 years old.
Since her fairytale run at Flushing Meadows, the now 20-year-old has gone through several coaching changes and has been repeatedly plagued by injuries.
Most recently, this has meant that she dropped out of the top 100 in the WTA world rankings and was unable to compete at Wimbledon, the tournament where she was voted the break-out star two years ago, due to having recently undergone surgery on her wrists and ankle.
Having soared into the spotlight in 2021, Raducanu has spoken about struggling with the 'intense' media attention and demanding lifestyle of being a top-ranked tennis player, going as far as to call the WTA Tour 'brutal'.
This has led King to offer her some advice. Speaking to Sky Sports, the 79-year-old recommended that Raducanu tries to block out the criticism by some areas of the media and tennis fanbase,
"I just know it's gotten tough for her, I just hope that she'll be alright because it's tough
"you've got to learn not to listen to criticism, you got to learn all these things and that's why I say don't take anything personally because once you learn that, you're okay. And if people are bullying you on social media you've got to stop looking at it or get some way to finish up, it's really important," she said.
Moreover, the American former world No. 1 expressed her admiration for Raducanu, saying
"I remember giving her the [US Open] trophy and she speaks so well, she's such a great representative. She speaks fluently in Mandarin, she probably can speak Romanian and English and the way she speaks, she's just a great communicator. So I think Britain is really lucky to have her. And I think she's fantastic."
The 39-time Grand Slam winner added that she hopes things will start looking up for the former British No. 1 in the near future,
"I hope she continues to play, I hope she gets over injuries and comes back and really does well in tennis and particularly in the US Open because she's won that one now, and the way she won it is still amazing, so I hope she keeps playing."
Billie Jean King on Emma Raducanu: “I just know it’s gotten tough for her, I just hope that she’ll be alright bc it’s tough.. You’ve got to learn not to listen to criticism… & if people are bullying you on social media, you’ve got to stop looking at it. It’s really important.”
