Emma Raducanu claims there are occasions when she regrets winning the US Open

Emma Raducanu, a former U.S. Open winner, said that the strain of fame and achievement made her sometimes regret she had not won the Grand Slam.

Without losing a set in any of the nine matches she played up to the final, the then-18-year-old came out of nowhere to win the event in 2021, but she was unable to build on that success owing to persistent injuries.

When I was celebrating on the court, Raducanu said, “I was like, I would literally trade any struggle in the world for this moment.”

“Since then, I’ve had a string of failures. It’s not easy, but I’m tenacious and have a great level of tolerance. And sometimes I reflect that I regret winning the U.S. Open.

The victory brought plaudits, but it also introduced Raducanu to a hitherto unexplored world that was sometimes brutal and built on expectations.

“I had to swiftly mature. I was quite foolish when I won, Raducanu said.

“What I’ve learned over the last two years is that the tour and all that goes together with it isn’t a particularly pleasant, secure, and trustworthy place. There are many sharks in the area, so you must be vigilant.

“I believe that certain individuals in the business, particularly with me since I was 19 and am now 20 years old, see me as a piggy bank. It has been challenging to manoeuvre. I’ve had some burns. Keep your circle as small as you can, I’ve learned.

As she recovers from surgery on her wrists and ankle, Raducanu will be missing from Wimbledon as well as this year’s French Open.

After Wimbledon last summer, the agony worsened, she said.

“I had a new coach when I began, and I was quite driven to get going. We were overtraining, but I kept going despite my agony because I didn’t want to seem weak.

After parting ways with Sebastian Sachs, Raducanu is now without a coach.