The 2021 US Open Champion Emma Raducanu opens up to Tatler about her time off court, knowing when to take a break, and the importance of being well rounded
She may be no stranger to Asia, having spent a lot of time in mainland China, particularly in her mother’s hometown of Shenyang in the northeastern Liaoning province, but until December, Emma Raducanu had never been to Hong Kong. She was excited. “My dad said it’s one of the most beautiful places he’s been to, and that it’s surreal with the landscape, the city, mountains and water. I’ve always heard good things about it since I was six years old, so I’m very excited to finally [be there],” says the 21-year-old tennis star from London on a video call with Tatler ahead of her visit to the city.
After her breakout win at the 2021 US Open, the then 18-year-old Raducanu established herself as a player to watch. With that came a slew of endorsements and opportunities to travel the world. She was in Hong Kong as HSBC’s Global Brand Ambassador, and to do a fireside chat with Tatler. “I love the food culture, which is obviously massive,” she says of the city. “My favourite thing is just immersing myself in the culture; I guess it’s very different to the west, but I love it. There’s a lot more going on at all times. And it’s so clean; it’s so modern. I think it’s way ahead of its time.”
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Born in Canada to a Chinese mother and Romanian father, Raducanu grew up in the UK; she’s a certified third-culture kid. While she has visited China on a yearly basis since childhood, she’s recently increased those trips, and indeed time with her family: after sustaining persistent injuries, Raducanu underwent two surgeries last May and has been recovering since then. The months off the court, however, have not been wasted; she fondly specifies time spent with both grandmas as a particular highlight. “Any time I can get to just spend time with them [family] has been my goal.” Alongside working hard on her return to the tour, she’s also been upskilling in areas that don’t involve a racket, including playing the piano and reading Chinese philosophy.
“I actually think that I’ve picked up more things [during recovery]. I train all day, then come home and learn more. Now I actually have a stronger attitude towards and willingness to actually do them.
“I never got a chance to play the piano when I was growing up. Which is like, if you are Asian, what are you even doing?” she jokes. She is more serious about her Asian heritage when discussing her current reading choices. “I find Chinese philosophy very interesting. Growing up, my mum was always telling me Chinese proverbs; now I like and enjoy reading [Chinese philosophy] in book form.”
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Raducanu is not one to shy from a challenge, whether intellectually or linguistically, as evidenced, for example, by her fluency in Mandarin. “Conversationally, I’m fine whenever I go to China—I’m able to live. Right now, I struggle a bit more with interviews, because it’s a different type of [vocabulary], so that is what I’m working on, as well as just reading and writing.”
During the fireside chat hosted by HSBC and Tatler at Upper House last month, Raducanu revealed that she gets her work ethic from her mother. She added, though, that it’s not possible to push constantly without pause. “I think anyone who’s actually worked with and around me knows that I’m a really hard worker. It’s true that if you put in the hours and hours and hours and hours, it’s going to get you there. But at some point, you get diminishing returns, and it’s just not the most efficient way to train or learn, and knowing when to pull back and actually work smarter is when you get more out of yourself and better results.”
