Emma Raducanu has spent the last three years quietly carrying the weight of one of the most extraordinary — and most scrutinised — rises in modern tennis. The 2021 US Open fairy tale, where she won the title as a qualifier ranked outside the top 150, turned her into Britain’s golden girl overnight. But the price of that sudden stardom has been steep, and in a recent interview she finally gave voice to the hidden toll she has been living with since 2023.
“I am resilient, my tolerance is high — but it’s not easy,” Raducanu said, the words landing with rare vulnerability.
For three years she had kept the full extent of her struggles largely private. Multiple wrist and ankle surgeries, a foot injury that disrupted the end of 2025, constant coaching changes, and the relentless pressure of expectations that never seemed to fade. She smiled through press conferences, posted polished social-media updates, and pushed her body back onto the court again and again. Inside, however, the 23-year-old was fighting a daily battle just to stay healthy and sane.
The confession comes at a telling moment. Only weeks ago Raducanu chose not to join Great Britain for their Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia in April 2026, opting instead for the WTA 500 event in Linz. Captain Anne Keothavong publicly supported the decision, acknowledging the difficult calendar clash with the start of the clay-court season and the need for players to protect their bodies. For Raducanu, the choice was simple: prioritise long-term health over national duty, even if it meant more criticism.
That decision is the latest chapter in a pattern she has been living since the summer of 2023, when she first spoke those words in the aftermath of yet another injury setback. Back then the statement felt raw but contained. Now, at 23 and still searching for sustained consistency, she is no longer softening the edges. She has admitted that the setbacks have come “one after the other,” testing a resilience she never imagined she would need so often so early in her career.
The physical side is only part of it. Raducanu has spoken about the mental load of being thrust into the spotlight at 18, the loneliness of life on tour, and the fear that every dip in form would be judged as proof she was a one-hit wonder. She has changed coaches multiple times in the search for stability, worked through painstaking rehabilitation programmes, and tried to rebuild her game while the world watched her every move.
Yet through it all she has kept showing up. A promising start to 2026, glimpses of the fearless ball-striking that once stunned the sport, and a growing maturity in how she manages her schedule show that the resilience she claims is real. She is no longer the wide-eyed teenager who won New York on a wing and a prayer; she is a young woman learning to set boundaries, protect her body, and accept that progress is rarely linear.
Her honesty feels like a turning point. For three years Raducanu held back the full weight of what she was enduring, perhaps worried it would be seen as weakness or complaint. Now she is saying it plainly: she is tough, she can handle an enormous amount, but it is still incredibly hard.
That admission doesn’t diminish her 2021 triumph. If anything, it makes it even more remarkable. And it offers hope that the best of Emma Raducanu may still be ahead — not because the road will suddenly become smooth, but because she is finally willing to admit how difficult the journey has been.
As she prepares for the clay-court swing and the rest of a 2026 season built on patience rather than perfection, Raducanu is writing a new chapter. One defined not by fairy-tale results, but by quiet strength, hard-won wisdom, and the courage to say out loud what she once kept hidden: it’s not easy, but she is still here.
