US Open champion, A-Levels, Great Britain, hand surgeries: Everything you always wanted to know about Emma Raducanu (but never had time to find out) – updated after 2024 Miami Open withdrawal
Here are the answers to some questions you may have about Emma Raducanu, who in 2021 at the US Open, created tennis history in New York
Who is Emma Raducanu?
Emma Raducanu is a professional tennis player from Great Britain. She was born on November 13, 2002, in Toronto, Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother; the family moved to the UK when Emma was a baby.
What happened to Emma Raducanu’s hands?
The British star announced that she will undergo surgeries to repair both hands, as well as an ankle surgery, in May of 2023.
“The last ten months have been difficult as I dealt with a recurring hand injury on a bone of both hands,” she wrote on social media, adding: “I’m having a minor procedure done on both hands to resolve the issues. I’m disappointed to share that I will be out for the next few months and while I am at it will have another minor procedure that is due on my ankle.”
The surgeries kept Raducanu out of action for the rest of the year. In December 2023, it was announced that she’d received a wildcard to play in the Auckland ASB Classic in the first week of January 2024, thereby confirming Raducanu’s return to competitive action for the first time since April.
Raducanu then played at the 2024 Australian Open for her first appearance at a major in a year. She reached the second round, where she lost to Yafan Wang in three tight sets.
Raducanu next played in Indian Wells, where she reached the third round before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. Despite entering the draw at the Miami Open as a wildcard, Raducanu pulled out on the eve of the tournament citing a lower back issue.
WHAT AWARDS HAS Emma Raducanu won?
Emma Raducanu received an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in November, 2022, from King Charles III, just over a year on from her stunning US Open victory, when she won 10 matches to come through qualifying and go all the way to the title.
What happened to Emma Raducanu as defending champion at the US Open in 2022?
Emma Raducanu returned to New York to attempt to defend her US Open title, but was beaten in the first round, knocked out by France’s Alize Cornet. As a result, she dropped to No 83 in the world rankings but said she was glad she could now almost start from scratch, with less pressure.
“Obviously it’s really disappointing,” she said. “But also, in a way happy because it’s a clean slate. I’m going to drop down the rankings, climb my way back up. In a way the target will be off my back slightly. I just have another chance to claw my way back up there.”
What did Emma Raducanu do at the US Open in 2021?
Raducanu created history at the 2021 US Open as she became the first qualifier, male or female, in the history of the sport to win a Grand Slam title. The Brit won three matches in qualifying and then seven in the main draw, including wins over American Shelby Rogers, Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, the No 11 seed, and 17th seed Maria Sakkari, to win the championship match against Leylah Fernandez without dropping a set during her historic run.
However, since then, the teenager has struggled to adapt to the conditions of a full-time life on the tour, and has also suffered with injury.
Who is Emma Raducanu’s coach?
Emma Raducanu’s coaching history has been of great interest since she rose to prominence. In the past year, she has worked with Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, coaches at the LTA and most recently, she worked with Dmitry Tursunov, the former coach of Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit.
However, Raducanu and Tursunov parted ways, with the Russian explaining that he had wanted a long-term project that was not possible.
In December 2022, she began a trial with Sebastian Sachs, the former coach of Belinda Bencic. That came to an end in the summer of 2023.
Ahead of the 2024 Australian swing, Raducanu has been working with her childhood coach Nick Cavaday.
Previously, she was coached by British tennis coach Nigel Sears, the father-in-law of Andy Murray, and a former coach of Daniela Hantuchová and Ana Ivanovic.
How did Emma Raducanu do at Wimbledon in 2022?
Emma Raducanu reached the second round of Wimbledon in 2022, losing to Caroline Garcia in straight sets.
It was a disappointment for the home star. She became one of the biggest storylines at Wimbledon 2021 after reaching the fourth round as a wildcard. The 18-year-old had never played in the main draw of a Grand Slam prior to this year’s Wimbledon. She scored wins over Vitalia Diatchenko, Marketa Vondrousova and Sorana Cîrstea to become the youngest Brit to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon in the Open era, and met Ajla Tomljanovic for a spot in the quarter-finals before having to retire mid-match.
How tall is Emma Raducanu?
Raducanu stands at 5ft 7in (1.75 m), according to the WTA tour website.
Has Emma Raducanu completed her A-levels?
The Brit sat her final A level assessments in April 2021, albeit in the new Covid-restricted conditions. She studied maths and economics at Newstead Wood, and said that her studies have helped her tennis as well. She received an A* (the highest mark possible) in maths and an A in economics.
“That school has been so supportive. They let me travel whenever I needed to or train. I’ve been with them for seven years now. To leave them it’s a bit sad. Next chapter.” Raducanu stated after her first-round win at Wimbledon in 2021.
“I think staying in school has definitely helped me in terms of having another set of friends I can come into. It was a different way of life. It’s a bit of an escape as well for me. To have another thing going alongside my tennis, it’s kept my mind occupied.”
After winning the US Open, Raducanu made a stop by the New York Stock Exchange where she spoke about how she is fascinated by Wall Street as she has studied finance during her course.
“It’s the one place on my bucket list I had to check out before leaving New York. I’m just so grateful to everyone who made this possible. “It’s something that I’ve been studying at school in my A-levels. To see it live is just incredible.”
Was Emma Raducanu a good junior?
Raducanu peaked at No 20 in the ITF Junior Rankings. The Brit claimed seven ITF junior titles, including Grade 2 events such as Siauliai Open, Biotehnos Cup, Delhi ITF Juniors, and Chandigarh ITF Juniors. Her best performance at the junior Grand Slams was reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018.
What is Emma Raducanu’s highest ranking so far?
Emma Raducanu’s career-high ranking is world No 10. She is the British No 1 and has been since September 2021. The Brit had entered the 2021 US Open as the world No 150. Her ranking history is available on her WTA tour profile page.
How many titles has Emma Raducanu won?
The Brit has one WTA title to her name – the US Open crown in 2021.
She has also claimed three ITF World Tour singles titles in her career so far – the most recent of which came at the ITF $25K in Pune, India.
How much prize money has Emma Raducanu won in her career?
Raducanu’s total career prize money, including her US Open win, is $3,538,908, as of November 2022.
Who are Emma Raducanu’s idols?
Raducanu cites China’s Li Na and Romania’s Simona Halep as her idols – but adds that it is about more than just their common ancestry.
“I think it’s really such a coincidence that those are two of my favourite players that I try to model my game after. I happen to have a connection to both those countries. I think it’s definitely helped me, the mentality that both of them bring. They both come from very hard-working countries. On my mum, she’s always instilled a lot of, like, discipline, respect for other people into me. I think having parents like I do, they always push me. They have high expectations. I’ve always tried to live up to that. And I hope I did them proud this week. I’m going to keep trying to go, keep going.”
What is Raducanu’s style of play?
Raducanu is known for her flat powerful groundstrokes, and uses a two-fisted backhand. She is known to play aggressively and admits herself she is not the best retriever on the tour.
“If you ask any of my team, I think they would say, She doesn’t run for balls,” the Brit said after her third-round win at Wimbledon in 2021. “If ever there was a time to start running, that was today. I’m happy that it paid off (smiling). I couldn’t believe some of them myself. I think playing on Court 1, you’re definitely inspired. You do things maybe you don’t normally do. Yeah, I was having fun just chasing those balls. It’s probably the first time I enjoyed chasing the balls. Maybe that’s something that I can take on and continue.”
Is Emma Raducanu on social media?
Raducanu is on Twitter, where he has more than 656,000 followers; on Instagram where she has more than 2.5 million followers, and on Facebook, where she has more than 171,000 followers. She is also available on the Chinese social media network Weibo.
