Emma Raducanu 'couldn't speak out' as she lifts lid on coaching problems

Emma Raducanu build-up to her fourth Wimbledon has been overshadowed by her nagging back injury, a stalker and upsetting personal news. But despite the pressure of her home Grand Slam, the British No.1 is seeking to rediscover the smile of her early career with the support of her old trusted team - and a new love of art history.

The then 18-year-old shot to relative fame in SW19 in 2021 when she reached the fourth round just weeks after sitting her A levels. Her profile hit new heights when she became the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam in New York two months later before suffering more lows in the last four years.

But Raducanu, now at the wise old age of 22 now wants to recapture her former free self to avoid living a future life with regrets.

'"I want to just really embody just having a good time and joy and I think I've really recently realised that what we do, it's for such a short amount of time, and it will go before we know it," she confessed.

"I was actually listening to Ana Ivanovic say the same thing. She said she wished she had enjoyed it more. Sometimes I want to go into the future and think: 'Oh my God, am I going to regret not enjoying this moment?'

"I'm 22 now, so I'm like living for that person to not have any regrets to look back on. I want to bring joy to what I do and enjoy this time, because it's going to go by really fast."

Part of this process is surrounding herself with people she can trust. She has had six full-time coaches since turning pro - and several caretakers - and last month in Rome she confessed: "It's very difficult for me to trust new people. I got burned quite a lot of times. Now I'm very Fort Knox with who I let in."

To help her handle the pressure of Wimbledon, she will be surrounded by former teenage coach Mark Petchey, her family and LTA staff. Such security is extra important for The Championships.

"Yeah, I think it really helps, because you're not gonna feel so comfortable all the time and to have those moments where you maybe open up and you're honest and you show a bit of vulnerability, you only want to do that with people that you're close to and that you can trust," she revealed.

"You don't want to do the same or go into the same detail, if it's someone that you don't fully trust or believe in. So I think having that around when everything is heightened, really, it is very helpful, and sometimes also maybe your behavior isn't perfect, so for them to kind of know that it's not personal, and you are just carrying a certain amount, and you just need to let certain things out. It's very helpful to know that they're not going to take it personally."

Did she feel like she was carrying the load on her own in the past? "Yeah,it just felt like I couldn't speak out really, because I didn't want what I said to be shared and spoken about and gossiped about because you know how the Chinese whispers go," she said. "It's just exaggerated and things are twisted. So I just prefer to keep everything in and that is not necessarily the best thing because when you're on the court, you're kind of playing, holding a lot in rather than being expressive, and that's when I'm at my best. "

To escape the stress of tour life, she goes for walks and likes to "chat rubbish" with her team.

She is reading the Peter Thiel book "Zero To One" about start-up companies and studying art history. The grammar school girl got A Levels in maths and economics in 2021 but is now enjoying exploring her creative side on and off the court.

"It is something I've discovered recently," she said. "It's really fascinating. I have a greater appreciation for Monet and the Impressionist era.

"I think I was growing up very boxed into a way of thinking: 'Maths and logic, ABC', and then over the last few years I have figured out what I actually enjoy. I think when I play my best, I'm, very free. I don't have to be so serious and 'on' all the time, because sometimes on the court, if you're laughing, it can be seen as unserious, but actually for me, it's a better way and I'm probably gonna play better than if I'm just putting so much pressure on myself to to be 'on' and perfect. I've been exploring that side of myself a lot more and it's working in terms of giving myself a better mindset."

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