“I had to mature very quickly,” Raducanu told The Sunday Times. “When I won I was extremely naive. What I have realized in the past two years, the tour and everything that comes with it, it’s not a very nice, trusting and safe space.
“You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there. I think people in the industry, especially with me because I was 19, now 20, they see me as a piggy bank.”
‘It has been difficult to navigate. I have been burnt a few times. I have learned, keep your circle as small as possible.”
Since capturing the 2021 US Open, the 128th-ranked Raducanu has been riddled with injury and cycled through several coaches. Raducanu, who has posted a 24-27 record since her remarkable Flushing Meadows triumph, said adapting to life on the WTA Tour has been both a physical and mental challenge.
“I was struggling with the physical pain but the mental side of it was really difficult for me, too,” Raducanu said. “If I lost a match, I would be really down. I was under so much pressure to perform, people had no idea what was going on and I had to have this facade.
“I am very young and still learning and making mistakes. It is a lot harder when you are making mistakes in front of everyone… the tour is completely brutal.”
Photo credit: Matthew Calves
#Brutal #Tour #Filled #Sharks