‘I feel free and relaxed, All that comes now is a bonus,’ Emma Raducanu confident ahead of Indian Wells


‘I feel free and relaxed, All that comes now is a bonus,’ Emma Raducanu confident ahead of Indian Wells

Emma Raducanu

US Open champion Emma Raducanu will play her first tournament post her mega triumph at New York at Indian Wells. She accepted the wild card for the tournament and will enter as the 17th seed.

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Talking to the media before her first match, Raducanu said that she is entering the tournament without any pressure. She revealed that she’s feeling relaxed after winning a grand slam and now whatever will come to her will be bonus.

“The best thing is that I think I have a lot to improve and have already won a Grand Slam,” she said. “Now, instead of feeling the pressure, I feel free, like relaxed. You play tennis to win this kind of title and I have already won it. All that comes now is a bonus.”

Raducanu couldn’t make the cut for Indian Wells because entries were closed before the US Open. Her ranking only allowed her to play the qualifiers at the desert but after her grand success, she has entered the top 20 of the world and is seeded 17th after she accepted a wild card.

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“That’s crazy,” she reacted with a laugh. “Because I was just scraping the qualifying acceptance list. And to be seeded I just can’t believe it. I never thought my ranking would be this high so soon. It’s just an amazing thing to see, and I’m really proud of myself.”

Raducanu speaks about giving back to the community

Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu

Raducanu also spoke about helping younger girls to get into tennis as a gesture to give back to the community.

“I’m really passionate about helping younger kids get into sport, especially young girls, because I think sport taught me so much and gave me amazing opportunities,” she said. “The confidence I have now, I don’t think I would have if I didn’t play sport.”

The Brit also became an overnight sensation on the social media post her US Open triumph. She gained over a million followers in a day and currently has 2.1 million followers on Instagram and over 600k followers on Twitter.

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“Yeah, I know, it’s crazy,” Raducanu said after hearing the number of followers she has. “It doesn’t feel real numbers, but I’m happy and really grateful that anyone wants to actually, like, follow me. I don’t think I’m that interesting, but it’s pretty cool.”

Also read: ‘When Nadal and Federer come back, I am sure that they will be competitive as they have always been’: Felix Auger-Aliassime