Nick Kyrgios addresses Emma Raducanu brand deals after successful Wimbledon return

Nick Kyrgios has had his say on Emma Raducanu’s sponsorships. The Brit’s lucrative brand deals have often caught attention and divided opinion. But 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios believes the 21-year-old has found the right balance between her off-court commitments and tennis.

It comes after Raducanu made a successful return to Wimbledon after missing her home Grand Slam last year, reaching the second week.
Raducanu’s Wimbledon run came to an end on Sunday at the hands of Lulu Sun, who came through in three sets. It was the Brit’s best Grand Slam result since she won the 2021 US Open as a teenage qualifier. And it was a huge turnaround for Raducanu, who had surgeries on both wrists and one ankle last year.

Kyrgios knows all about the brutal reality of trying to get back after a wrist operation, having gone under the knife last year. And he was impressed by the former world No. 10’s return to the All England Club. ” It’s extremely tough. Obviously I was so up and down with that throughout my career and obviously you’ve just got to take it day by day,” he told the BBC while on punditry duties.

“And 12 months ago, as we’ve said, she had two wrist surgeries, and I obviously battling a wrist surgery know how hard it is just to even step back on a practice court let alone go out there in front of thousands and execute.”

The former world No. 13 thought Raducanu’s effort was admirable despite her loss to world No. 123 qualifier Sun. He continued: “And I thought she did an amazing job and she ran into a qualifier, Lulu Sun, who was playing lights out and nearly beat Donna Vekic the next round. So I think she’s doing an amazing job just to get back out there and compete for these Grand Slams.”

However, Kyrgios knew there were other matters Raducanu needed to take care of. “But she has a lot of things outside of tennis that require her commitments and brand deals so she has to be able to balance that. I think she’s doing a pretty good job,” he added.

It’s a balance that the Aussie has needed to find himself. Kyrgios has learned to accept being a “role model” and he’s also been racking up brand collaborations during his injury lay-off, including creating a smoothie with Joe & The Juice. “I mean I had this conversation with John McEnroe. I said, Johnny Mac, how would you have gone in one day and age with social media always following you off the court. And he said he’d probably be in jail. So that kind of explains what we deal with and we have to be ambassadors and good role models,” he laughed.

“It’s taken me a long time to understand that. We didn’t really sign up for it but there are a lot of people around the world looking up to myself and Emma Raducanu. Someone that, she’s always on court smiling and she does have that radiant personality. And I think winning a Grand Slam so early on in her career has just accelerated everything else so I think she’ll be fine moving forward.”

Kyrgios has nothing but admiration for Raducanu, who he also believes has the right team around her. He said: “It can be [draining]. I know when I go out on court it’s not always about my tennis, people just want to remember something and go home with something that’s insanely rare to see, whether it’s good or bad.

“And I think that’s pretty cool in a way but she’s obviously found that balance a little bit quicker than I have. She’s won a Grand Slam in singles where I was very close and I’m still trying to find that balance as well. So I think she’s got a great team around her and obviously all of her coaches and stuff will tell her, you’re moving in the right direction.”