Emma Raducanu confesses one of her ‘biggest downfalls’ and how it cost her last year

Emma Raducanu admits patience is not one of her biggest strengths and that she can panic at times as the 21-year-old reveals she was supposed to be back in action four months after her surgeries but rushing things doubled that time frame and only forced her to spend more time at home.

Last May, Raducanu uploaded to Instagram a selfie from a hospital bed and announced that she was undergoing surgeries on both wrists and her left ankle. At the time, Raducanu only confirmed that she would be out of the French Open and Wimbledon but didn’t give any indications when she could possibly be back.

But after it became clear that Raducanu also wouldn’t be able to play at the US Open, that’s when it started becoming evident that her 2023 season was over. And although there were some offseason rumors that Raducanu faced a setback in her recovery and that she may not be able to start her comeback at the start of the 2024 season, the 2021 US Open champion was able to do so after playing in Auckland in the first week of this year.

Since then, Raducanu hasn’t experienced any injuries or serious setbacks – which is an ideal scenario. In the end, everything turned out well but also made the 21-year-old a bit wiser and showed her why being impatient can sometimes only make things worse.

“I think the biggest lesson I’ve learnt in terms of injury recovery is not to rush back. My impatience is probably one of my biggest downfalls because I basically rushed the process of my recovery, and set myself back many months. Instead of taking me four months to return to play, it took me eight, and it took me seven months without hitting balls, when I should have been hitting balls after a month and a half,” Raducanu told Marie Claire magazine.

“So I think having people who are really strict with you in coming back from injury is important. People who are literally counting every shot that you hit, and making it really scientific not just on feeling, because sometimes your mind overtakes your body, and by pushing more you’re actually setting yourself back.”

Raducanu shares her biggest career goal
When Raducanu won the 2021 US Open, she ended the British women’s tennis long drought of not having a Slam champion since Virginia Wade made it all the way at Wimbledon in 1977. Now, Raducanu’s biggest goal is to win her home Slam Wimbledon and have a British woman win The Championships again after nearly 50 years.

At this past Wimbledon, Raducanu made a very strong start before suffering a surprise loss to qualifier Lulu Sun in the round-of-16. So far, the 21-year-old Briton has had two round-of-16 exits at The All England Club and one second-round exit.

Meanwhile, when it comes to her short-term goals, it is just being healthy and improving.

“Long term, I want to win Wimbledon. That’s my number one goal. But in the short term, I just want to keep staying healthy and improving my skills. Working on the actual development of them rather than any immediate results – that’s my priority right now,” Raducanu revealed.

Raducanu: It’s very easy in tennis to panic, and I’m guilty of it…
Raducanu, who will be turning 22 in November, plans to be around for at least another decade. And while she is still very young and has a lot of time ahead of her career, there were still moments when she felt like she didn’t have much time left.

“I think it’s very easy in tennis to panic, and I’m guilty of it. You feel like you only have 10 years of your career ahead of you, and that it’s going to be over before you know it. Sometimes 21 feels so old, and then I remember that in the timeline of my career I still have 10 years of slams ahead of me – even 15 if I really want,” Raducanu explained.

“And while it goes by very quickly, I’ve only had three years on tour so far, so there’s a lot more learning and developing to do. There’s also a big chunk of life that happens after tennis. We think when we hit 35, our life is over, but there is so much still to come – many people are just starting their life at that point. So, of course I want to make the most out of the years that I have on tour, but I also need to keep in perspective that there are other things in life than just tennis.”

This Monday, Raducanu gained 20 spots on the WTA rankings list and she is now back to world No. 69 ahead of the US Open.