Emma Raducanu wants everyone to know her massive sponsorship deals haven’t changed her priorities.
The 19-year-old clapped back at critics, most notably former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters, who seemingly called out Raducanu for her “princess” attitude and lack of focus on tennis following her second-round exit from the Miami Open.
“Maybe you just see, on the news or on social media, me signing this or that deal and I feel like it’s quite misleading because I’m doing five, six hours a day [of training], I’m at the club for 12 hours a day,” Raducanu said. “But I throw out one post in the car on the way to practice and all of a sudden it’s, ‘I don’t focus on tennis.’
“I think that it is unfair but it’s something I have learned to deal with and become a bit more insensitive to the outside noise.
“At the end of the day, I feel like my days [with sponsors] are pretty limited. I’m not doing crazy days. I’m doing three, four days every quarter, so it’s really not that much.”
Kim Clijsters made comments that many have taken to be about Emma Raducanu AP
Raducanu has only won four of her 12 matches since the U.S. Open APIn an interview about Iga Swiatek, 20, becoming the new top-ranked player in the world, Clijsters made unflattering comments reportedly about Raducanu and her approach to tennis stardom.
“To see Iga grow as a tennis player, it has been so beautiful for me,” Clijsters said to the WTA Tour website. “There’s a certain type of focus that is on tennis, and tennis only. There’s a drive there that I admire very much – a drive that I recognize. She’s had great results in the past, but she still wants to improve.
“We’ve seen others that kind of take a step back and say, `Oh, I’ve won a Slam now, I’ve made it. There’s sponsors coming in and I get treated like a princess wherever I go.’ Just because you’re the No. 1 player and have won Slams, doesn’t mean you should treat other people differently.
“I feel like Ash Barty did that amazingly, and I think Iga has that focus, too. There’s a still a lot of respect for the other people around her.”
Since skyrocketing to fame after winning the 2021 U.S. Open, Raducanu has penned deals with Dior, British Airways, Tiffany & Co., Vodafone and Evian. On Monday, the teen phenom announced a new partnership with Porsche.
While her number of partnerships continues to grow, Raducanu has struggled on the court, losing eight of the 12 matches she’s played since the U.S. Open. On Thursday, the No. 13-ranked player was defeated 3-6 6-4 7-5 by Katerina Siniakova in the Miami Open.
Daniela Hantuchova claimed Raducanu has lost the respect of other tennis players. Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesFollowing the defeat, Amazon Prime tennis analyst Daniela Hantuchova said that “All the locker room respect [Raducanu] had after the US Open is now kind of going away.”
Tennis star Nick Kyrgios defended Raducanu tweeting Sunday “What’s with old retired players giving their opinion on our stars now?”I love A-rod [Andy Roddick] and I agree we all need to chill with the rackets and all that, but geezus, I read an article about a past female player talking about Raducanu, no offence but she is a far far bigger name already.”



