Emma Raducanu was offered a piece of advice by WTA legend Billie Jean King on how not to pay attention to critics and doubters. The Trailblazer, 79-year old who has 39 Grand Slams in her kitty (12 singles, 16 women’s doubles and 11 mixed doubles) believes the 20-year old is lucky to win the US Open at such a young age. Raducanu, who won New York major as U-19, recently said that she sometimes rues her 2021 triumphant run at 2021 US major. When the Brit clinched her maiden Grand Slam title as first-ever qualifier she received plaudits from everyone on the tennis scene.
But since then, the world No. 131 has been on the opposite end, receiving criticism and tough scrutiny both from public and media. The sharp criticism has been slowed down in the last three months because the Briton is currently on sidelines to recover from multiple surgeries she had to undergo to be competitive again.
When you get some words of wisdom from a 79-year old, it must web worth the heed. Here is the advice 12-times Grand Slam winner gave to the now struggling talent: “I just know it’s gotten tough for her, I just hope that she’ll be alright because it’s tough. If you want to be a professional athlete, it’s tough.
She continued: “And you’ve got to learn not to listen to criticism, you got to learn all these things and that’s why I say don’t take anything personally because once you learn that, you’re okay. And if people are bullying you on social media you’ve got to stop looking at it or get some way to finish up, it’s really important.
“But I hope she continues to play, I hope she gets over injuries and comes back and really does well in tennis and particularly in the US Open because she’s won that one now, and the way she won it is still amazing, so I hope she keeps playing,” said King while talking to Sky Sports.
Meanwhile, it appears that the 20-year old currently out of action because of the procedures on both wrists and left ankle, has returned to gym for some fitness training as she posted a cryptic sponge and tennis message on twitter, reading: “Today was a good day.”
Hopefully, hitting the practice court for training to start over will be her next step but it is highly unlikely that the former Champion at Flushing Meadows will make an entry this year.