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Although Emma Raducanu faced second-round exits in all three Grand Slam tournaments this year, she remains one of the biggest and most exciting players on the women's circuit.
Playing her first match on Centre Court at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, the Canada-born British star won her first-round match against Alison Van Uytvanck in straight sets. However, Caroline Garcia of France stopped the 19-year-old in the second round, handing her a 6-3, 6-3 defeat.
In a recent interview with Tennis365, former British player Laura Robson spoke about how Raducanu has become the favorite player of the majority of kids who might take up the sport after witnessing the Brit's success at such a young age.
“I did an interview with Wimbledon for a local primary school and asked the kids who was their favorite player and almost all of them said, Emma. It’s so cool just to have that inspirational figure to look up to," Robson said. "They all watched the US Open last year and were looking forward to seeing her at Wimbledon. In five years' time, they will have watched Emma grow and they will be teenagers themselves by then."
“There is no doubt that Emma has had a massive impact on young people. They see what she has achieved at the US Open and they want to try tennis. That is great for our sport. She is so exciting to watch. She just needs a good run of training and competition to get her body used to playing week in, week out."
After Raducanu's triumph at the 2021 US Open, she was bombarded with sponsorship deals from some of the world's biggest companies. Fans started criticizing her as her performance level dipped. Reflecting on her rough patch, Robson stated that Raducanu works extremely hard and it's only a matter of time before she returns to her top level once again.
“It seems strange to talk about Emma and say she needs to win matches as she is only in the first year of her career. She has already been at the highest of highs and I have no doubt she will get back to that level once she has a run of matches. I see her at the National Tennis Centre. She is always working so hard. We shouldn’t worry about someone who has already won a Grand Slam title," Robson added.
Emma Raducanu enters WTA top 10
Emma Raducanu got her name etched in the history books last year when she became the first-ever player to enter a Grand Slam event as a qualifier and win it. She defeated Canada's Leylah Fernandez in the summit clash to clinch her maiden Major title at the age of 18. The Brit won 10 consecutive matches in straight sets to send the tennis world into a frenzy.
Raducanu entered the top 10 in the WTA rankings this week for the first time in her career. The youngster became just the fifth British woman to do so after Virginia Wade, Sue Barker, Jo Durie and Johanna Konta.
