British tennis star Emma Raducanu was just a promising teenager when she arrived to Nottingham last year but now she is a big star and one of the most popular athletes in her country.
Raducanu, 19, received a wildcard into Nottingham last year.
In her Nottingham debut, Raducanu suffered a straight-set defeat versus Harriet Dart.
12 months later, Raducanu is a Grand Slam champion and ranked at No. 11 in the world.
This week, Raducanu is st to kick off her grass season in Nottingham.
“This was my first tournament, and to come back 12 months later, knowing what happened, it’s pretty surreal,” Raducanu said during her press conference in Nottingham, per The Guardian. “The grass season is going to be a lot of fun. I love the grass, but there are so many good players in the draw and it’s dependent on so many things; the form on the day, how you match up against your opponent. Results, at this point, I kind of stop thinking about it, because there is no use in doing that. If you’re doing the right things, then it will follow.”
Raducanu not revealing too much
Raducanu has split with three coaches since her US Open victory.
After splitting with Torben Beltz, Raducanu’s team suggested the Briton was set to “transition to a new training model.”
When Raducanu was asked to eleborate what that meant, she wasn’t interested in providing too much details.
“I’m just training how I have been the last few months,” Raducanu said. “I’ve got someone to practise with and even if I had a revolutionary training model, I don’t need to share how I train, because that’s my business, why would I tell my opponents how I train?”
Raducanu has been drawn to meet Viktorija Golubic in the Nottingham first round.
Raducanu and Golubic have no previous meetings.