Emma Raducanu addresses reputation for driving a Porsche and flying ‘first class’
Emma Raducanu has responded to assumptions about the "perfect image" of her life.
Emma Raducanu says she has a message for those who think all she does is drive a Porsche and fly first class. The 21-year-old has a number of lucrative sponsorships, including deals with the German car manufacturer and with British Airways. But Raducanu wants to make things clear for those who are “running away with a perfect image” of her.
A lot has been made of Raducanu’s lucrative off-court deals. Her company posted profits of almost £10million last year, even though she shut down her season in April to undergo triple surgery. Since becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open, Raducanu has penned deals with the likes of Dior, Evian, HSBC and Vodafone. But she wants people to know about her “strong, grounded values”.
“I’m not just Emma Raducanu who arrives in a Porsche, wears Dior and flies first class,” the former world No. 10 told Grazia. “I came from Bromley on the park courts, and I want to send that message out. People can easily run away with a perfect image or a perfect life and it’s not like that.”
Raducanu is now taking pride when she sees kids getting out on their local tennis courts. She added: “If I go anywhere now or drive past any park courts in London, they’re always fully booked and everyone’s always playing tennis. I can’t even get a court in my local club anymore. It’s amazing.”
But it wasn’t part of Raducanu’s original plan to inspire the next generation to pick up a racket. “I didn’t really know or have any awareness that if I achieved great things, the impact it would have. I would say only in more recent years have I understood how far sport can go,” she added.
Raducanu will be getting back on the British grass courts herself next month as she will compete in Nottingham and Eastbourne before looking ahead to Wimbledon. The current world No. 205 has not played a match since losing at the Madrid Open more than a month ago. She pulled out of Strasbourg and French Open qualifying to focus on training ahead of the grass season.
