Emma Raducanu’s rapid rise to stardom following her US Open win in 2021 has served up plenty of challenges for the British star, with Olympic silver medalist Wang Xinyu suggesting she is dealing with more pressure than most players on the WTA Tour.
Raducanu enjoyed some positive results during the grass court season, with her run to the quarter-finals at the Queen’s Club backed up by a fine performance in a narrow defeat against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round at Wimbledon.
They were performances to fuel the belief that Raducanu can enjoy a strong second half of 2025 if she can stay fit, with a persistent back problem a concern for the 22-year-old over the last couple of months.
The pressure to succeed has weighed heavily on Raducanu’s shoulders since her miracle win in New York almost four years ago, with world No 40 Wang offering some sympathy for Raducanu.
“I would imagine it is difficult for her,” said Wang, speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at an Adidas event in London.
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“Yeah, she has won a Grand Slam, but there is a lot of pressure that is now on her every time she plays.
“She won the US Open in one of her first tournaments on the WTA Tour, so it was never going to be easy after that.
“I think she is still growing as a player and also as a person. She is still young. I would say the best thing is to keep yourself away from the pressure and social media. It really doesn’t matter what they say on social media.”
At the age of 23, Wang is just five places ahead of Raducanu in the WTA Rankings and she admits her ambitions were fuelled by an impressive win against newly crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff last month.
Wang Xinyu spoke to Tennis365 at an Adidas event in London
Wang beat Ons Jabeur, Daria Kastkina and Gauff in her run to the final of the WTA 500 event in Berlin and even though she lost in the second round at Wimbledon, her confidence was given a big boost.
“I would say it gives you more confidence when you beat players like that because I didn’t have a very good start in the season,” she continued.
“But I know I need to do it more consistently. It’s one thing beating these players and it’s another doing it every week. Also, you can move up the rankings, but it is another thing to stay there. So I have a lot more to keep on working, but I believe I can get there.
“Winning a Slam is the biggest dream and I feel my chances are getting bigger every year. You could say last I finished top 30, so next year we aim for top 20, but I don’t see it like that.
“The key for me is staying focused and not thinking too much about what I need to do on the court. If I think I have to win, I put pressure on myself and that is not good for me. I still feel like I am learning a lot because I am still so young.”
Chinese tennis enjoyed a memorable moment at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, with Wang winning a silver medal alongside partner Zhang Zhizhen in the mixed doubles and Zheng Qinwen taking gold in the singles.
They were achievements that put tennis in the spotlight in China and Wang has noticed a surge in interest among fans from her country since then.
“Tennis has been talked about a lot in China since last year,” she added.
“After Zheng won the gold medal in singles and we won the silver in the mixed doubles, it made an impact.
“Now, when we are playing tournaments in Europe and America, you see a lot more Chinese fans coming to support us after what happened in the Olympics. They don’t just come to one tournament. They come every week. It makes us feel like we are playing at home.”
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