Emma Raducanu is committed to her tennis career, but the Brit isn't making tennis everything in her life because there are plenty of other things to do.
Many fans have different ideas about who Raducanu is. The Brit herself, however, isn't really in line with most of those ideas, and it's why she has gotten plenty of hate in the past.
Many called Raducanu out for enjoying life and not submitting her life to tennis. As insane as that sounds, it's mostly based on the notion that tennis players should be obsessed with the sport.
Some are dedicated to the sport and succeed in it, but for the 2021 US Open winner, thinking like that didn't help. There were times in her life when she panicked and wanted to submit everything to tennis, but these days, she understands that there is more to life than tennis.
Her tennis career is her focus and goal right now, but there is time for her to develop as a player. She doesn't have to rush or push herself over the top as she did at the start of her career.
There is time to improve and succeed, and when all of that is over, there is a life to be lived away from the sport. She shared her perspective in a recent interview with Marie Claire.
"I think it’s very easy in tennis to panic, and I’m guilty of it. You feel like you only have 10 years of your career ahead of you, and that it’s going to be over before you know it."
"Sometimes 21 feels so old, and then I remember that in the timeline of my career I still have 10 years of slams ahead of me - even 15 if I really want. And while it goes by very quickly, I’ve only had three years on tour so far, so there’s a lot more learning and developing to do."
Raducanu's new approach to her tennis career has yielded some solid results so far. The most important part is that she has been able to remain healthy and play regularly.
That was the main goal for her this year: play regularly but remain healthy, as that didn't happen in the past. Being able to win matches consistently is just an added bonus for her.
She couldn't add another title yet, but she has been able to win matches at every event she has played since the start of the grass-court part of the season. Therefore, this new approach has been working well for her. Whatever happens with tennis, there is more to life than the sport.
"There’s also a big chunk of life that happens after tennis. We think when we hit 35, our life is over, but there is so much still to come - many people are just starting their life at that point."
"So, of course I want to make the most out of the years that I have on tour, but I also need to keep in perspective that there are other things in life than just tennis."
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