Tennis

Raducanu has ‘ultimate dream’ as British tennis star drops to new two-year low

Emma Raducanu teaches tennis lesson from 4,000 miles away

As Emma Raducanu continues her road to recovery, she is looking to the future and setting goals. The 20-year-old’s “ultimate dream” has always been the same since childhood – to win Wimbledon in front of her adoring home crowd.

“Wimbledon is the dream and always has been growing up. It’s still the ultimate dream to win Wimbledon,” she told the BBC.

There is still a long way to go before she can fulfil her childhood ambition though. A recent rankings update marked a two-year low for the former world No 10 as she dropped out of the WTA’s top 200 rankings for the first time in 27 months (she is No 217 as of September 18).

Raducanu has been plagued by injuries in recent years and could only watch this year’s grass-court Grand Slam from the sidelines after undergoing surgery on her ankle and both wrists in May.

However, in August, she returned to the practice court with compatriot Kyle Edmund at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton for the first time since her surgery. Reports suggest Raducanu is progressing well and she expects to achieve her goal of being ready for next season.

“Next season I’ll be back,” Raducanu added. “This season all the slams were finished so it was difficult to watch them go by but I was trying to stay in my lane as much as possible and keep focused on my recovery.”

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Radacanu has failed to progress beyond the second round of any Grand Slam tournament since becoming the first British woman in 44 years to win a major singles title when she picked up a US Open title in 2021. Since then the pressure has been mounting but the Bromley-based tennis star isn’t concerned by the criticisms being levelled at her.

“The fact they are still talking about me even though I’m not at these events is just a compliment,” she said. “Someone told me ‘worry when they are not talking about you’.”

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