It is hard to avoid social media in the modern world but Emma Raducanu has taken action to do just that.
Heading into this week’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the former US Open champion conducted her usual training routines with her team. Then away from the court, she decided it was time to take a break from the online world by deleting her Whatsapp and Instagram apps from her phone. The idea behind her decision is to zoom in on her thoughts instead of taking notes of what others might be saying about her.
“After AO (Australian Open) I deleted WhatsApp and Instagram off my phone and after that, I’ve been living under my own little rock,” Raducanu said following her first round match on Wednesday. “I felt like sometimes you go through patches where you just want to zone in on yourself and I was very content with my life without it. I’ve learned regardless of what you do, if you do good, if you do bad, people are going to come at you regardless.”
Since bursting onto the Tour back in 2021, Raducanu’s popularity has rocketed. On Instagram, she has a social media following of 2.5M which is more than double that of the world’s No.1 female player, Iga Swiatek. She also has 656.4K followers on Twitter. Forbes Magazine estimates that Raducanu’s endorsement deals are currently worth in the region of $18M.
Whilst she has enjoyed success online and commercially, on the court it has been a different story. Troubled by various setbacks Raducanu hasn’t contested a Tour final since winning the 2021 US Open. This year she has already been hampered by a rolled ankle, a bout of tonsillitis and most recently the recurrence of a wrist injury that troubled her towards the end of last year.
Despite the physical setbacks, the former top-20 star impressed in her opening match in Indian Wells by defeating Danka Kovinic 6-2, 6-3. A player who is currently ranked 15 places higher than her at 62nd in the world.
“I know last time (at the 2022 Australian Open) was a real battle. It was three sets and today I was just like I’m going to be aggressive,” Raducanu said. “I took some things that worked last time and really tried to dominate where I could.”
Admitting that she isn’t fully 100 percent, there are questions about how Raducanu’s body might hold up as the tournament progresses. Earlier this week she was seen training with support on both of her wrists. However, this adversity is only adding fuel to the fire.
“I just love competing even when (things are) against you and fighting through it,” she said. “Having something that you are going through gives you something, more incentive to be aggressive to really cling on to and use. I think I found a way to use it as much as I can.”
Raducanu will play Poland’s Magda Linette in the second round. Linette reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open earlier this year before losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.
