Emma Raducanu has insisted that her primary focus is on tennis as she hit back at critics over her growing sponsorship portfolio.
The world No.13 says it is ‘unfair’ for some to suggest that she is focused more on growing her personal brand which has caused a recent lull in her results on the Tour. Raducanu’s comments came after she posted a photo on social media marking the signing of her latest sponsorship deal with Porsche. The car marker joins the likes of Nike, Dior, Tiffany & Co and Evian who have all started to collaborate with the British star within the past 12 months.
Earlier in the week Raducanu crashed out of the Miami Open following a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 loss to Katerina Siniakova. The Brit was leading the match by a set and a break at one stage. Then in decider Raducanu held a 5-3 lead before losing four games in a row.
“Maybe you just see, on the news or on social media, me signing this or that deal and I feel like it’s quite misleading because I’m doing five, six hours a day (of training), I’m at the club for 12 hours a day,” Raducanu told reporters.
“But I throw out one post in the car on the way to practice and all of a sudden it’s ‘I don’t focus on tennis’. I think that it is unfair but it’s something I have learned to deal with and become a bit more insensitive to the outside noise.
“At the end of the day, I feel like my days (with sponsors) are pretty limited. I’m not doing crazy days. I’m doing three, four days every quarter, so it’s really not that much.”
Raducanu made history at the US Open last September when she became the first qualifier in history to win a major title, dropping zero sets in ten matches played. However, since then she has found it tough going on the Tour. For the remainder of the 2021 season she won back-to-back matches in one out of three tournaments played. Then during the off-season Raducanu tested positive for COVID-19 which hampered her preparation. As for 2022, which is the first time she will play a full season on the WTA Tour, she has won just two out of six matches played across four tournaments.
Now in the media spotlight, the 19-year-old says she is developing a thicker skin in order to deal with the media and criticism which may come. Part of that for Raducanu includes looking at the news less often than she has done before.
“In the beginning I probably would occasionally peek at what’s being said,” she admits. “But now I don’t really bother doing that because sometimes it’s not going to be so favourable or positive and I feel like it can get to you. I’m just learning to thicken my skin a bit.
“For me, I’m doing these things, but I’m training hard, putting the hours in and especially now I feel I just need to get more volume and capacity. I am doing a lot and I’m spending a lot of time at the club.
“These deals, of course I’m so grateful for them, but my tennis is my focus. That’s definitely at the front of my head.”
Raducanu will return to action next month for Great Britain’s tie with the Czech Republic, where she will be making her singles debut in the competition. Then she will play her first ever WTA main draw event on the clay.
