Emma Raducanu opens up about her ‘pushy parents’ and being ‘forced into tennis’
Pushy parents can often be detrimental for some tennis players when they are trying to break through in sport, but Emma Raducanu sees it as a positive as she believes it has been key to her success.
Raducanu has made no secret of the fact that her parents Ion and Renee, were “very hard to please” during her younger days and they dictated her career moves early on from coaches to tournaments and everything in between.
It turned out to be very successful with Raducanu enjoying a fairytale run at the 2021 US Open as she won her maiden Grand Slam at the age of just 18, becoming the first player – male or female – to win a major after coming through qualifying.
In an interview with The Times, Raducanu explained: “At the start my dad forced me into tennis. I didn’t like it, but then as I got older and tennis became more of a priority I was pushing myself.”
Now 21, Raducanu is allowed to make most of her own decisions and while some would hold it against their parents for being too strict, the British player sees it as a blessing.
“They are so pushy. When I was younger more so. Now they are at a place where they tell me what they think is best, but they realise ultimately that the more they push the more I am going to resist,” she said.
‘I’ve seen some great people who I was playing with in the juniors who had way more lenient parents, who were like, “It’s OK if you lost”, and those players don’t play tennis any more, so I don’t blame my parents for it.'”
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The Grand Slam winner added: “My parents were very much against that (boyfriends) as it interfered with training.
“When I was younger I wasn’t even allowed to hang out with my girlfriends. A lot of the time I was very resentful.
“But it made me very confident and comfortable in my own company, which is also a big strength.”
She also paid tribute to her mother Renee for instilling resilience and confidence from a young age.
“I was very lucky in the way I was brought up,” she said. “I have faced a lot of challenges, but my mum instilled in me from a young age resilience, and that’s probably my greatest quality, no matter how bad things get.
“I remember all the times in the past where I felt very down or sad, and knowing that I came out of them gives me confidence, it makes those victories so much sweeter. If it was just smooth sailing it wouldn’t mean as much. I think it is crazy what tennis players do.
“We go through all of this pain and heartache just for 30 seconds at the end if we win. It’s masochism in a way, but it is more than worth it.”
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