Virginia Wade: Emma Raducanu needs to understand just how good she is

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Former three-time Grand Slam champion Virginia Wade thinks Emma Raducanu needs to understand how good she is and then work hard to maintain that level. Raducanu, 18, shocked the tennis World this fortnight after winning the US Open.

Raducanu made it past the US Open qualifying event, before winning seven main draw matches to claim her maiden Grand Slam title. Raducanu became the first qualifier in tennis history to win a Grand Slam as a qualifier. Wade told BBC Breakfast: “That is probably the hardest thing these days, to handle that and so she’s got to have very good advice on that.

“I think for Emma, she needs to understand just how good she really is, but you have to constantly work at that to maintain it, she has to have that self-belief – if you believe that you’re better than the others, you’re going to beat them”.

Raducanu fulfilled her dream

Raducanu always believed of winning a Grand Slam but when she accomplished it she couldn't believe it. "Yeah, the visions I had, they were from pretty early on, I would say. I've always dreamed of winning a Grand Slam.

You just say these things. You say, I want to win a Grand Slam. But to have the belief I did, and actually executing, winning a Grand Slam, I can't believe it," Raducanu said. "I first started when I was a little girl, but I think the biggest thing that you have visions of is, for me it was just winning, the winning moment, and going to celebrate with your team in the box, trying to find your way up to the box, just seeing them after the match.

That's been playing in my head, like, a couple nights. Like I've fallen asleep to that (smiling)." Raducanu climbed up to from world No. 150 to a career-high ranking of No. 23.