From nowhere to every where...; Emma Raducanu is back in Britain and in demand after the US Open win, still struggling to get to grips

From nowhere to every where...; Emma Raducanu is back in Britain and in demand after the US Open win, still struggling to get to grips

Associated PressUpdated: Friday, September 17, 2021, 11:33 PM IST
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Emma Raducanu |

London: She's been on American talk shows, attended the Met Gala, ticked off a bucket list item by visiting the New York Stock Exchange, and chatted to Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, a major deal for a big motorsports fan.

As for top soccer coach Jurgen Klopp, who manages Premier League team Liverpool, he has described her as the talent of the century.

Emma Raducanu's life has been turned upside down since winning the US Open title as an 18-year-old qualifier and, nearly a week later, she's still struggling to get to grips with what has happened.

"Sometimes," she said Friday, "I just have random bursts where I think, 'Oh my God, I just won the US Open,' and then I go about as normal as if nothing has happened."

Watching the final for the first time on Thursday, the day she returned to Britain after a whirlwind few days in New York, and trying to relive a few of the moments from her 6-4 6-3 win over Canadian opponent Leylah Fernandez made it all sink in a bit more.

"When I was watching it, it almost feels like that that's not me who is playing, who is pulling off some of those shots," she told the BBC.

Her win on Saturday turned her into a superstar overnight, putting her in demand in the United States.

Everyone wanted a piece of her, with Chanel inviting her to the Met Gala, where she joined a throbbing crowd of celebrities and fashion designers in New York. That was her highlight of the past few days, especially since she met Hamilton there.

"He is such a great inspiration," she said.

The same can now be said of the down-to-earth Raducanu, who had taken 18 months off from tennis to finish her high school education because her parents wanted her to have something to fall back on. One of the subjects she studied was economics and her parents work in finance, explaining why the trip to the NYSE meant so much.

The message she wants to get across is: Dream big and work hard, no matter what your background is.

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