Luke Littler has claimed a prize Emma Raduanu can only dream about after teenage breakthrough
Darts and tennis are contrasting sports on so many levels, but comparing the stories of Luke Littler and Emma Raducanu is very relevant.
The two Brits exploded onto the sporting landscape with the kind of bang that changed their lives in an instant, yet only one of them handled the expectation that helped to create successfully.
Raducanu’s breakthrough came with her iconic win at the 2021 US Open, as she famously became the first player in tennis history to emerge through qualifying and lift one of the four big titles in the sport.
With her model-like looks adding to the lure of her commercial appeal, A-list sponsors duly jumped on the Raducanu train and handed her the kind of riches some of the game’s all-time greats never got close to receiving in their decorated careers.
British Airways, Vodafone, Tiffany, Dior, Evian, Wilson, Nike and HSBC were among the stellar companies eager to recruit the new superstar of tennis as a brand ambassador, but what came next was not as pretty as the opening salvo from Raducanu.
Raducanu broke all the rules with her breakthrough win at the US Open and in the three years since, she has had to get used to life on the WTA Tour and trying to get her body into a position to cope with the demands of playing at the highest level.
She missed half of 2023 due to injury and pulled out of a host of tournaments last year due to fitness concerns.
This new year has not started any better as Raducanu withdrew from her first tournament of the season in Auckland this week due to a back problem and the question over whether her US Open win was a one-off success that may never be repeated.
In an honest interview last month, Raducanu spoke about her experience in the spotlight and admitted the sponsorship agreements that made her a multi-millionaire had a negative impact on her sporting ambitions.
“I’m obviously very grateful and fortunate to have had certain experiences and opportunities, but I wasn’t prepared for it,” said Raducanu.
“Especially straight after I did really well, for the next few years, it was very much like there was so much communication about things off the court. And I would always, always give my 100 per cent on the court.
“I was always working really hard but I just think that I wasn’t prepared as well for the other things that inevitably do take some energy out of you.”
Contrast Raducanu’s stuttering sporting story with that of Littler’s first year in the limelight and it could not be more contrasting.
Aged just 16, Littler announced himself as the new megastar of darts by reaching the World Championship Final last January.
He lost narrowly against Luke Humphries in a thrilling contest, yet the interest he generated was confirmed by huge viewing audiences on Sky Sports in the UK and also in the Netherlands and Germany.
As Raducanu will testify, being thrust into the teeth of the media spotlight can be a daunting prospect and yet Littler has handled it so impressively.
He never flinched as he accepted a wildcard in the star-studded PDC Premier League and went out and won the competition that featured the best elite players in darts.
More Tennis News
The 11 women with a 100% win rate in Grand Slam finals: ft. Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka & Emma Raducanu
Littler has backed that up by rising to No 4 in the darts rankings and is lighting up the World Championship once again after marching into the semi-finals with some thrilling performances over the last three weeks.
If Raducanu was blinded by the bright light of fame, Littler seems to have enjoyed the hype around him and he has confirmed as much by winning game after game against the biggest names in darts.
“The likes of me at 16 coming through and already beating people on the tour who have been on the tour for 10-plus years, hopefully they are going to look at me and think they can do what I can do,” he said.
“It’s like all sports – football, tennis and darts. You have got youngsters coming through at 16, 17 years old, there’s young players playing for Barcelona, and in the Premier League squads. They all have to get used to it.
“Darts with me, hopefully it will get bigger and bigger. The game can only get bigger.
“I want to win every Major at least once and be world No.1 – even if it is just for a day. I’d leave the sport very happy if I reached No.1 in the world.
“But I am here to win, to prove reaching the world championship final was not a fluke. I won in Bahrain, I won on the European Tour, I won the Premier League… that was me saying, I am here, it wasn’t a one-off.
“No-one knew anything about me at the World Championship last year, so it didn’t matter if I lost in the first round or got to the final. It was a free hit and a bit of prize money. This year isn’t a free hit. There’s expectation – a lot of expectation.”
Expectations can be debilitating for a young sports star who is forced to adapt to a huge lifestyle change in double quick time and while Raducanu has battled some demons over the last couple of years, Littler has embraced everything around him.
Raducanu can look to Littler as an example of how to deal with rapid rises to fame and fortune, with the steely mindset of the darting superstar a quality she could add to her game in her bid to banish the idea that she is no longer worthy of the status she still has in tennis.
READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu sent stark sponsorship warning as her collapse is compared to David Beckham
