Emma Raducanu has been praised by Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Adlington for her bravery in confronting performance anxiety challenges. The British athlete gained widespread recognition in 2021 by surpassing expectations to secure victory at the US Open.
Since then, however, Emma Raducanu has struggled to scale the same heights.
Now, speaking to the Daily Express, Adlington has hailed the 20-year-old for being willing to speak up and go against the taboo of sporting figures being silent over their struggles.
“It has been extremely brave of her to come out and say what she’s going through,” said the 34-year-old.
“Sometimes I had [anxiety] when I wasn’t competing and I had days when I didn’t even want to go to work let alone then compete and be at my physical best and push my body to the limit.
“So the fact that she’s doing that in a capacity where there is an immense amount of pressure and there’s an immense amount of expectation, it’s incredibly brave of her, I think.
“I think, with Emma, she’s been really honest and open about [her anxiety] and I think that’s the best advice.”
Adlington has suffered panic attacks in the past and knows all about the pressure of being at the highest level.
On her own struggles, she added: “When something’s not openly spoken about all the time, you think: ‘Everybody has that, everybody has bad days, so why wouldn’t there be days where you wake up and feel anxious?
“It wasn’t until I spoke to my husband – my boyfriend at the time – [and others] that people told me, ‘This isn’t normal.'”
Emma Raducanu is currently preparing to return to tennis.
The youngster has been out of action ever since undergoing three different operations in May.
Raducanu had surgery on both of her wrists, while a problem with her ankle was also addressed.
She previously admitted that, sometimes, she wishes she’d never won the US Open nearly two years ago.
In June, the Grand Slam champion said: “I had to mature very quickly. When I won I was extremely naive.
“What I have realised in the past two years, the tour and everything that comes with it, it’s not a very nice, trusting and safe space.
“You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there.
“I think people in the industry, especially with me because I was 19, now 20, they see me as a piggy bank.
“It has been difficult to navigate. I have been burnt a few times. I have learnt, keep your circle as small as possible.
“I was struggling with the physical pain but the mental side of it was really difficult for me too.
“I always want to put forward the best version of myself, or strive for that, but I knew I couldn’t.
“I very much attach my self-worth to my achievements. If I lost a match I would be really down, I would have a day of mourning, literally staring at the wall. I feel things so passionately and intensely.
“When you are on the tour, giving interviews, you don’t want to give that information out, what you are going through, how little you are practicing. You don’t want to show your cards to your competitors.
“I was under so much pressure to perform, people had no idea what was going on and I had to have this facade, to keep everything inside.
“It has been really hard. And then to be scrutinised for it when they don’t know what is going on.
“I am very young and still learning and making mistakes. It is a lot harder when you are making mistakes in front of everyone and everyone has something to say about it. The tour is completely brutal.”
