Pushy parents can often cause an extended distress for some tennis players when they are trying to get a break through in sport but to Emma Raducanu it is a positive thing that can bring success.
Raducanu has always been vocal about her parents Ion and Renee’s very hard to please attitude during her younger days and they controlled and directed her career moves early on from coaches to tournaments and everything between and around them.
It proved out to be very fruitful with Raducanu enjoying a fairytale run at the 2021 US Open as she claimed her maiden major title at an age of 18 while also becoming the first player – male or female – to clinch a Grand Slam title as a qualifier.
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.”
The 2021 US Open champion is not 18 anymore and is allowed to make most of her own decisions and while some would hold it against their parents for being too hard on them, the British player rates 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 realize ultimately that the more they push the more I am going to resist,” said the 21-year-old.
‘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.’”
Raducanu 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 credited and praised her mother Renee for instilling resilience and giving her self-belief 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.”