“I sometimes regret US Open win”, Emma Raducanu on mental health
Emma Raducanu has said she sometimes wishes she never won the 2021 US Open, but admitted the feeling of winning the title overcomes the pain of a number of setbacks since then. Raducanu broke onto the scene with an impressive Wimbledon campaign aged 18 before historically winning the US Open as an unbeaten qualifier months later.
Howerver she has struggled to replicate her success amid a multitude of injuries — most recently, she has undergone surgery on both wrists and her ankle — as well as splitting from multiple coaches. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Raducanu opened up on how she has struggled mentally since lifting her first Grand Slam title.
“That moment on the court, when I was celebrating, I was like, I would literally trade any struggle in the world for this moment,” Raducanu said. “Anything can come my way, I will take it for what I have right now because this is the best thing in the world. I promised myself that, on the court that day. Since then I’ve had a lot of setbacks, one after the other.
“I am resilient, my tolerance is high, but it’s not easy. And sometimes I think to myself I wish I’d never won the US Open, I wish that didn’t happen. Then I am like, remember that feeling, remember that promise, because it was completely pure.”
Raducanu has since slipped to No. 128 in the world and has not won another singles title since her triumph at Flushing Meadows.
“I was struggling with the physical pain but the mental side of it was really difficult for me too. I always want to put forward the best version of myself, or strive for that, but I knew I couldn’t,” she added.
“I very much attach my self-worth to my achievements. If I lost a match I would be really down, I would have a day of mourning, literally staring at the wall. I feel things so passionately and intensely.”
“When you are on the tour, giving interviews, you don’t want to give that information out, what you are going through, how little you are practising. You don’t want to show your cards to your competitors.
“I was under so much pressure to perform, people had no idea what was going on and I had to have this façade, to keep everything inside. It has been really hard. And then to be scrutinised for it when they don’t know what is going on. I am very young and still learning and making mistakes. It is a lot harder when you are making mistakes in front of everyone, and everyone has something to say about it.”
