MY ACCOUNT
US Open champion Emma Raducanu is not planning on replicating Ash Barty after the world number one retired at the age of 25.
Barty announced her retirement on Wednesday less than two months after winning the Australian Open, saying she has accomplished all she set out to in the sport.
There has since been an outpouring of respect and admiration for Barty, with the prevailing sentiment being that it is a great loss for tennis.
Raducanu burst onto the scene last year with a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon that was followed by a remarkable triumph at Flushing Meadows, making history at the age of 18 in becoming the first player to win a grand slam as a qualifier in the Open Era, doing so without dropping a set.
And she is planning on staying on the WTA Tour for many years to come.
“For me, I want to be in the game as long as possible,” Raducanu said.
“I’m only 19. I’ve just come on tour, which is pretty young.
“I want to be in the game till I’m in my 30s. We’ll see what happens and how long I can last, to be honest.”
Reflecting on Barty’s career, one in which she took a break from the sport in 2014, briefly playing professional cricket, before returning in 2016, Raducanu added: “If you get oversaturated with one thing, it’s not healthy with anything you do.
“I feel like that just shows, if you take time off, you come back, you’re hungry, you’re ready.
“[Barty] basically cleaned up when she came back. It just shows you don’t need to be only tennis, tennis, tennis.
“Right now, all I care about is getting through the season in one piece.
“I feel like because I have been losing early every week, I don’t really care because I kind of like the challenge of being knocked down and feeling horrible after a loss, sort of trying to get yourself back up there for the next match.
“Now all I want to do is just complete my first season on the tour in one piece. Doesn’t matter if I lose in the first round every week, just that’s the goal.”
