Emma Raducanu Asks for Patience as She Rises in Women's Tennis Circuit: 'I Am Learning a lot'

"The biggest thing is to be patient with myself because basically from my rankings, I skipped a bunch of girls I learned with," said the 18-year-old tennis champ

Emma Raducanu. Photo: Elsa/Getty

Tennis superstar Emma Raducanu is asking for patience as she continues her climb to the top of the women's tennis circuit.

On Tuesday, the 18-year-old 2021 U.S. Open women's singles title holder defeated Polona Hercog at the Transylvania Open, but a day earlier she told reporters in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, that she was cognizant of her quick rise and asked the public for some grace, per The Guardian and Yahoo! Sports.

"I don't think there is any pressure on me," Raducanu said. "I feel like everyone should just be a little patient with me. I am going to find my tennis, I just need a little bit of time. But I am really enjoying it."

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Raducanu's game seemed to improve overnight as she catapulted from 150th to 23rd in world rankings.

"Although things have happened rather fast, I am learning a lot. The biggest thing is to be patient with myself because basically from my rankings, I skipped a bunch of girls I learned with," she told reporters.

The British tennis player continued, "Normally, you work your way in, play your way into the game. There are a lot of lows, where you learn about your game. You adjust to each level gradually. I kind of went from zero to the top of the game. So, it's obviously going to take some time to adjust and adapt but hopefully with some good work, I will be able to do that. I am learning to accept it is not so smooth."

Earlier this month, Raducanu fell to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Indian Wells Open. But the tennis champ won't let the loss deter her.

"I have a lot of confidence in myself. I know it will be a different journey. New York was a great experience but I am trying to look ahead. You just need to move on. It was great while it lasted but now I am looking ahead and I want to get better. The exciting thing is I still feel I have a lot of room to improve," said Raducanu, The Telegraph reported.

Earlier this month, Raducanu received some advice from another fellow young tennis star regarding social media and the spotlight.

Asked about words of wisdom for Raducanu, 17-year-old Coco Gauff said, "The best thing I could [say], and I'm sure she's probably heard it, is to set time aside from the phone," according to the WTA.

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"Because it is exciting when you get all the retweets, all the follows and all of that, but it can be a bit overwhelming," she continued. "At least in my experience. That's probably what I wish I would've known, not to focus on social media."

But Raducanu isn't all too concerned about the spotlight: "It felt nice to receive the support, everyone's nice messages and kind words," she told reporters, per the WTA, "but I didn't get too caught up in it."