"365 days ago I was in exam hall" remembers Emma Raducanu
WTA
Emma Raducanu is on the brink of entering the Top 10 of the WTA Rankings, but she remembers that her situation was much different only 12 months ago.
The 2021 US Open champion spoke to the media after her victory over Tereza Martincova on Friday night, talking also about her progress. Not only because of the 7-6(3), 6-0 victory but also because she had just received a wonderful reminder of how far she had progressed in the previous year.
Raducanu had gotten a notification on her phone earlier that day while waiting to be called to the court. It was part of the "memories" feature, and it reminded her that she had just entered an exam hall in Orpington for the final test of her summer on April 29, 2021, one year before playing her match at the Madrid Open.
"I was just reflecting on that and I was like, ‘Oh my God, like 365 days ago, I was literally sat in an exam hall doing maths paper three. I would have taken everything that’s happened and dealt with any sort of downs or losses or whatever those feelings are if you would have given me what I’ve had in the last year."
"That definitely gave me a lot of satisfaction and [the feeling of] being very proud of myself. So I was really looking forward to carrying on. It’s funny because that afternoon I went to go hit some balls because I had to get ready very quickly for the grass season. I didn’t play tennis for two months. So I mean, I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve got a few weeks to get myself in shape to play my first WTA at Nottingham.’"
The British sensation also remembered that after her exams, she played a British Tour tournament, before going to play at the Nottingham Open, where she lost to compatriot Harriet Dart in the opening round 3-6, 4-6.
"I actually played a British Tour event at the Connaught Club [near Chingford in Essex] the week after my exams. I lost a match and I was really considering what was going on. And then, the week after, I played another British Tour and managed to win. It was very ugly but I won it."
And it was also that experience that helped Raducanu. Despite losing in the second round of the lower-tier even and in the first round in Nottingham, she made her way to the fourth round at the Wimbledon Championships, where only an injury stopped her.
"I feel like that mindset of just picking yourself up when you feel like you’re at the lowest of the low [is important]. I lost in the second round of a British Tour event. My head was in the bin but then I got back up and I had a great grass season."
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