Emma Raducanu is certain that her Wimbledon wild card might have helped with her miraculous US Open run, as both came out of nowhere.
Back in 2021, Raducanu was a talented young tennis player who was hoping to get a shot to prove herself. It came thanks to a wild card for Wimbledon, which she used spectacularly.
The teenager went on to win three matches comfortably to secure a fourth-round appearance at SW19. In the fourth round, the Brit battled Ajla Tomljanovic, but she retired from the match due to breathing difficulties.
It was likely too much for Raducanu, who was playing her first Grand Slam and doing surprisingly well. That run was amazing back then but rarely gets talked about these days because two months later, she would become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam at the US Open.
However, in her mind, that Wimbledon wild card mattered a lot because, without that run, the US Open run might never have happened.
“If I didn’t get that wild card [at Wimbledon], who knows what would have happened or if the US would have happened? So I think life is a compilation of butterfly effects and small moments that you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Raducanu will finally return to Wimbledon this year. She missed it last year due to triple surgery she had months before the event, and getting a chance to play in front of home crowds on the green grass is very special for her.
“I’m very much looking forward to being back and playing in front of a home crowd. It’s obviously different being back here having won the US Open compared to before, but in a good way, with a lot of support.”
She’s looked really good on the grass so far this year, and she’ll certainly be a player to watch at Wimbledon. With the crowd and her familiarity with the courts, she could do some damage.