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New British No 1 Katie Boulter has come to Emma Raducanu's defense, revealing that she has "taken a lot of inspiration" from the 2021 US Open champion. In 2021, Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam and also the first British woman to win a Major since Virginia Wade in 1977.
After making all the headlines and receiving praise from all sides, Raducanu became one of the most criticized players in tennis after she started to deal with injuries and post poor and inconsistent results. Just recently, 20-year-old Raducanu admitted there are days she wishes she never won the US Open because that historic win put her at the center of attention.
“If we didn’t have Emma then I don’t think that these girls would be pushing through and I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from her. What she did was absolutely incredible and I don’t think It’ll ever be emulated again.
It was quite the moment and she’s a very special girl. I tried to take a lot of inspiration and tried to do what she was doing," Boulter told The Telegraph.
Boulter comes to Raducanu's defense
Raducanu, who had surgeries on both wrists and her left ankle, is currently out and recovering from multiple surgeries.
During her injury break, Raducanu made a sad admission regarding her US Open win. “That moment on the court, when I was celebrating, I was like, I would literally trade any struggle in the world for this moment. Anything can come my way, I will take it for what I have right now.
I promised myself that, on the court that day. Since then I’ve had a lot of setbacks, one after the other. I am resilient, my tolerance is high, but it’s not easy. And sometimes I think to myself I wish I’d never won the US Open, I wish that didn’t happen.
Then I am like, remember that feeling, remember that promise, because it was completely pure," Raducanu told The Sunday Times. Boulter, who recently overtook Raducanu as the British No 1, doesn't believe that Raducanu should have any regrets about her US Open win.