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Arriving at the US Open venue in a tournament vehicle for the first time this year, Emma Radukanu was struck by the memory that came back to her from her last trip to Flushing Meadows last year: the trip to Arthur Ashe Stadium on the morning of the final against another unseeded teenager, Leila Fernandez.
“I felt so sick of the car. I just blamed it on being “car sick” but I think I was also a bit nervous. My head was in my hands the entire car ride. “I was like, ‘What’s going on,'” said Radukanu, who is seeded 11th this time and will begin the defense of her Louis Armstrong Stadium title against Alizee Cornet on Tuesday night, Day 2 of the hard-court Grand Slam.
“As soon as I got out of the car,” said the British player, “I just promised myself, ‘Look, you’re just pretending. Do what you can.’ And that day it worked well. In the 50 weeks since the culmination of her run from nowhere — age 18, ranked No. 150, her second major appearance, the only person to advance through the qualifying rounds en route to becoming a Slam champion — Radukanu has dealt with the challenges of sudden success in tennis.
She goes through one coach after another (Dmitry Tursunov is with her in New York). She has lost in the second round of every major in 2022. Her record since last year’s US Open is 15-18.
Kim Clijsters’ note
Kim Clijsters, who lost the 2001 French Open final a day after her 18th birthday and would wait more than four years until she won her first Grand Slam title, recalled what went through her mind as looks at Radukanu’s big moment in New York.
“There’s like a little maternal instinct that kicks in, sort of worrying about, ‘Okay, hopefully she can keep everything under control.’ And let’s hope England doesn’t go too crazy. And hopefully he can focus on his development.” Because it was all so unusual, right? You usually see players kind of gradually work their way up the rankings,” said Clijsters, now 39 and a parent.
“It’s a different process that she goes through. How fast your life is changing. Not only your life but also the people around you change. There’s so much to take away and learn.” But Clijsters, who finished with four major trophies and was named honorary president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame this week, is not concerned about Radukanu’s future.
It’s early, of course, and he has plenty of time to adapt and add to his achievements. “People ask me about her and think what she’s going through right now is the end of the world. She is 19. She is fine. He works hard, wants to keep improving. It’s good to just let her develop because winning the US Open doesn’t mean she’s going to be in the semifinals or later at every Grand Slam from here on out,” Clijsters said.
“It’s almost like it was a peak and now it’s back to the process.” Figuring out how to deal with the exponential increase in distractions and demands on one’s time can be key for an athlete who becomes an overnight star. It’s even more daunting when someone isn’t even 20 yet.
Even more difficult for young players
Martina Hingis was 16 when she won the first of her five Grand Slam singles titles at the 1997 Australian Open and believes it’s even harder for young players these days.
“Now there are so many challenges with social media and so much more show business. They need to go back to their roots,” Hingis said. “She built her momentum at the US Open, but now she’s lost it a little bit. .. Emma really needs to regroup and maybe go back to the coach that got (her) there. She was trying to find new things.” It’s natural for anyone who has won one championship to crave another.
And as Clijsters points out, fans seem to be waiting for it too. “From one second to the next, you’re the ‘new player to watch’ and the ‘player to beat.’ Everyone expects you to play well all the time and win all the time,” said Mary Pearce, whose first Grand Slam title came at age 20 at the 1995 Australian Open, second at the 2000 French Open. on 25.
‘No pressure’
“Just the pressure and the expectations and all the demands that come from the outside – the interviews, the TV appearances, the photo shoots, the events – those things take up your time. They take away your energy.” Radukanu bristled at the suggestion that she was facing pressure.
When that word was used by a reporter at Radukanu’s pre-tournament press conference in New York, the response was: “You’re probably thinking more about pressure and rankings than me. I think the title defense is just something the press is making up.”
Which brought to mind what Radukanu said after her loss at Wimbledon in June: “There’s no pressure. For example, why is there any pressure? I’m still 19. This is a joke. I literally won a Slam. Yes, I paid attention. But I’m a Slam champion, so nobody’s going to take that away from me. Yes, if nothing else, the pressure is on those who haven’t.”
Published on
August 28, 2022
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