British tennis star Emma Raducanu, 19, says her parents still tell her off ‘big time’ and she still uses public transport – despite being worth an estimated £4.5M since winning the US Open
- Speaking to Andrew Castle, the 19-year-old reflected on her ‘surreal’ 2020
- Raducanu beat 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez at Flushing Meadows in September to claim an astonishing US Open victory
- Win catapulted her to global fame and her earning potential soared but in an interview with Andrew Castle, she revealed her parents keep her down to earth
- Said they told her off for moaning about being tired – and that she still gets public transport despite being worth an estimated £4.5million
Despite becoming the first British female to win a major tennis title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977, US Open champion Emma Raducanu has revealed she still gets told off by her mum and dad.
The 19-year-old, who raised in Bromley, entered British tennis history folklore in September when she beat 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez at Flushing Meadows in an unthinkable victory.
However, Raducanu, who was only 18 at the time of her win, says her parents, Ian and Renee, are keeping her feet on the ground, despite the fact she’s risen to global fame in the months that have followed the grand slam win.
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Speaking to Andrew Castle, the 19-year-old reflected on her ‘surreal’ 2020 in which she scooped the US Open, becoming the first British female to win a major tennis title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977. In December, water brand Evian announced that the British tennis star will be its new Global Ambassador
The victory catapulted the 19-year-old to global fame and her earning potential has soared but in an interview with Andrew Castle, she revealed her parents keep her down to earth
She told Castle her parents told her off ‘big time’ for moaning about being tired – and says that she still gets public transport despite being worth an estimated £4.5million (Pictured with her father Ian)
Speaking to former pro turned tennis pundit Andrew Castle, Raducanu revealed she still takes public transport – despite having an estimated earning potential of around £4.5million.
After her win, the tennis star, who got A and A* in her A-levels this summer, was invited to the Met Gala in New York and was this month made a global ambassador for Evian water.
Ahead of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, which she’s a hot favourite to win, the teenager revealed: ‘I’m still taking the train and doing the same journeys.
‘I feel like the exact same person and go about everything I used to do. I don’t see why I should change things.’
She also revealed that she’d recently felt the wrath of her parents, after she moaned to them that she was tired.
Speaking about how friends keep her grounded, the sports star added: ‘And I have my parents – who were telling me off yesterday morning, big time.’
When Castle asked why she’d been reprimanded, she replied: ‘I said I was tired! They both told me off.’
Raducanu’s parents Ian and Renee Raducanu have been hugely influential in their daughter’s remarkable journey.
Romanian Ian and Renee, who is Chinese, were living in Toronto, Canada, when only child Emma was born, and the family moved to the UK when she was two.
The new Evian ambassador is tipped as a hot favourite for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, which air next Sunday
Glitz: Raducanu has attended the Met Gala in New York and, earlier this month, she appeared on the red carpet at Tiffany and The Prince’s Trust Women Supporting Women event
Both work in finance and home is in a cul-de-sac in Bromley, south-east London, where Emma and her father would hit tennis balls together in the street during the Covid lockdowns.
However, her doting parents weren’t able to travel to the US to attend the tournament in September because of Covid rules.
After winning the US Open, she told reporters how tennis is often the last topic of conversation at home, saying: ‘I speak to my parents, we don’t really talk so much about tennis but they just really want to know how I am in these moments and, you know, to not have them here with me, I would have loved them to be here and we can all celebrate together or they could be with me and experience the same things but you know, they’re watching from home very proud.’
Ahead of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards next weekend, the star said she was hoping Lewis Hamilton would win, and that she definitely hadn’t prepared a speech.
The contenders for this year’s prize will be revealed tomorrow, with Tom Daley, Adam Peaty, Jason Kenny and Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey likely to be included after golds at the Tokyo Olympics.
Mark Cavendish — 2011’s SPOTY — is also set to be shortlisted after his four Tour de France stage wins saw him match Eddy Merckx’s record of 34.
BBC Sports Personality of the Year show airs live on BBC One on Sunday 19th December
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