Picture the scene. Wednesday 30 June 2021, and Britain’s world No.338 was making her main draw debut on Court 18 at Wimbledon. This was 18-year-old Emma Raducanu, two months out of school, without a Tour win to her name – and initially the understandable nerves showed, as she delivered four double faults in her opening service game.

Her opponent was Vitalia Diatchenko, ranked almost 200 places higher and with 12 years more experience. All too soon the Russian had points for 5-1 in the first set.

But Diatchenko didn’t win that set, and couldn’t get so much as a game in the second.

How different it might all have been for Raducanu, had she been crushed by those opening stumbles in that match.

One year on, we know how the story actually unfolded – that a brain-scrambling triumph at the US Open was waiting.

But… quiet, please. This is England in June. Time to pause just for a moment, close our eyes and remember that Wimbledon was the original launchpad for Raducanu’s rocket flight to superstardom.

In the second round she dispatched 2019 Roland-Garros finalist Marketa Vondrousova and in the third it was the turn of Sorana Cirstea, all gone without the loss of a set. Britain and Planet Tennis were enchanted and electrified in equal measure.

 

Raducanu was in the second week of a Grand Slam at her very first attempt, and was a picture of relaxation. As she walked out on to No.1 Court for that match against Cirstea, she peered around the stands in delighted wonder at the ovation, and looked much the same as she retraced her steps to face Ajla Tomljanovic in the last 16.

But in the late evening of that Monday, night was falling on Raducanu’s Wimbledon debut. The sparkle was gone from her game and, having lost the first set, she was forced to call a halt in the second with breathing difficulties.

Great things were forecast, of course, but not even the sharpest-eyed soothsayer suggested she would lift the US Open trophy 10 weeks later.

Yet incredibly she carved out an achievement to equal any in sporting history, becoming the first player ever to come through qualifying to grab a Grand Slam title. All that without a set lost.

Life has come at Raducanu pretty fast ever since. Two days after lifting the trophy, Raducanu was mixing it with the smart set at New York’s exclusive Met Gala. A month later she was at the Bond premiere in London.

Already she had become one of the most marketable players of all time, a brand ambassador for nine companies including Dior, Tiffany and Porsche.

 

 

 

But as she turned 19, Raducanu’s focus remained her tennis – only now she was walking an unprecedented path. Having achieved immediately what countless brilliant players never do in careers lasting 15 years, Raducanu was barely halfway through her rookie year on tour, serving her apprenticeship in front of a goggle-eyed public, not all of whom appreciate that most players lose most weeks.  

Raducanu has won eight of her 19 matches this year. More worryingly, a string of minor injuries have repeatedly halted her momentum, and a lasting coaching partnership – with all the steadying influence that might bring – is something she is yet to find.

Iain Bates, head of women’s tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association, is “helping on an interim basis”, while LTA doubles coach Louis Cayer is giving “technical guidance” when he has time. Bates has known Raducanu since she was 13, having first become aware of her promise four years previously.

“She’s the same Emma as before – light-hearted, easygoing, fun to be around, engaging, smart, likes to laugh and joke, knows when it’s time to work,” he says. 

"Because of her, people are talking about women’s tennis in a way I’ve never known. I was in New York with her for the US Open, and what impressed me most was her composure in dealing with everything she was facing, and her ability to learn on the job.”

Those are qualities Raducanu must call on now. The innocent freedom of one with nothing to lose is a distant memory, and she has a tough opener at Wimbledon 2022 in Alison Van Uytvanck.

The Belgian has won 12 matches on grass in the build-up to Wimbledon – a sharp contrast to Raducanu, whose only outing on the greensward in Nottingham earlier this month was cut short almost at once by a side strain.

But BBC commentator Andrew Castle offers reassurance.

“She’s handling things really well,” he says. “She’s doing a fantastic job. Just hit the tennis ball and enjoy the game, Emma. Don’t worry about anything. It’s going to be fine.”

Click here to join myWimbledon for a range of exclusive benefits, including access to tickets and the ability to personalise your digital experience with us.

Following along from home this year? You can still experience the classic Wimbledon atmosphere on the Virtual Hill, presented by our Official Partner American Express