EMMA RADUCANU responded to the “misleading” and “unfair” criticism of her big-money sponsorship deals – by insisting tennis remains her No1 priority.
The British superstar teen, 19, has penned deals with Tiffany & Co, Dior, British Airways, Evian and Vodafone worth millions of pounds since her fairytale in New York in September.
Emma Raducanu has endured a tough time on the court since winning the US Open
The British star has just signed a deal with Porsche
And on Monday the US Open champion and petrol head unveiled her latest commercial partner, luxury car brand Porsche.
But on the court she has suffered from a string of difficult defeats, losing eight of her 12 matches after the miracle run in New York – although has struggled with Covid and various injuries.
The latest came at Miami Open this week at the hands of Czech ace Katerina Siniakova, who came through 3-6 6-4 7-5.
Raducanu was on the receiving end of some difficult coverage highlighting the rise in sponsorships – and as a result a commitment to a number of commercial obligations.
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But Bromley hero Rads, who is ranked 13th in the world, defended herself and hit back defiantly.
She said: “Maybe you just see, on the news or on social media, me signing this or that deal and I feel like it’s quite misleading because I’m doing five, six hours a day [of training], I’m at the club for 12 hours a day.
“But I throw out one post in the car on the way to practice and all of a sudden it’s, ‘I don’t focus on tennis’.
“I think that it is unfair but it’s something I have learned to deal with and become a bit more insensitive to the outside noise.
“At the end of the day, I feel like my days [with sponsors] are pretty limited.
“I’m not doing crazy days. I’m doing three, four days every quarter, so it’s really not that much.”
Raducanu’s hard-court swing is done for now following early exits in Indian Wells and Miami – enabling her to enjoy some down time at a Miami Heat NBA match.
Her focus will now turn to the clay, a surface on which she has never played a professional match.
The teenager is scheduled to represent Great Britain at the team tennis Billie Jean King Cup against the Czech Republic before appearing at April’s Stuttgart Open, a tournament supported by Porsche.
Raducanu took in a Miami Heat NBA game during her trip to Florida
She also has a commercial deal with Evian
