2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu went from a school kid to a tennis superstar in just 12 months. In Madrid, Raducanu took a moment to reflect on how her life changed in a span of 12 months. A year ago, Raducanu was just a regular 18-year-old girl that was taking her exams and thinking about maybe what college she should attend.
12 months later, Raducanu is a tennis star, who has been tipped to win multiple Grand Slams and reach the world No. 1 ranking one day. “It’s funny because I was on my phone and I looked at it and it sent me the memories of one year ago today — I took my last maths exam,” Raducanu said, as quoted on Tennis365.
“Then I was just reflecting on that and I was like, ‘Oh my God, 365 days ago I was sat in an exam hall doing paper three’”.
Raducanu hit the practice court after her exam
“That afternoon after my morning exam, I went to go hit some balls because I had to get ready very quickly for the grass season,” Raducanu revealed.
“I hadn’t played tennis for two months. I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve got a few weeks to get myself in shape to play my first WTA at Nottingham’”. The Wimbledon organizers recognized the potential in Raducanu so they handed her a wildcard for The Championships.
Raducanu made her first notable run at Wimbledon last year as she reached the round-of-16 before retiring to Ajla Tomljanovic. Two months later, Raducanu won a total of 10 matches at the US Open to become the first qualifier in tennis history to win a Grand Slam.
Raducanu hasn’t had an ideal 2022 season but it should be noted that she is playing her first full season on the WTA Tour.
