Emma Raducanu rose to the top of the world's tennis very quickly, in the span of months, but the Brit was able to stay grounded thanks to her parents.
Raducanu has always spoken fondly about the tight bond she shared with her parents and that was not changed since her meteoric rise. It's actually the thing that kept her grounded during the hectic time as well as focused on her goals on and off the court. In an interview, the Brit spoke about how she is handling all the newfound fame that has notched her many brand deals including the latest with Evian water.
Speaking on herself as a player she said:
"As a player, I think that I have a lot of work to do, to be honest. A lot of the time I can get so caught up in the moment and caught up in a particular shot that, I'm very tough on myself. So to step back and look at how far I've come, I think that's the biggest thing I've learned [this year], just to be patient."
Raducanu recently won her first WTA award and to her, it was crazy seeing herself nominated with some of the names:
"To join those names, I think, is pretty crazy. And I don't really believe it, because they've achieved so much. So for me to be part of that little group, I think, is a good achievement. But I'm just really looking forward to getting started from here and trying to really make my tour experience and my tour legacy prolonged."
She also touched upon her relationships with her parents noting how essential it is for her to stay grounded:
"They're really good at keeping me on the
ground and really good at keeping me focused and just plugging away a
day at a time, not getting too high with the wins or too low with the
losses. They
have full-time jobs, so, I mean, from a
young age I was at school alone or at childminders."
She continued:
"And then I'd play
tennis at 7:00 a.m. in the morning and then maybe at 8:00 p.m. in the
evening under the floodlights and in the rain on the artificial clay
courts. So I think looking back, just to see how far I've come, and
their support, for them to bring me to this stage, I really respect and
I'm so grateful for the sacrifices that they made."