Emma Raducanu earned a six-figure payday to add to her significant net worth despite losing at the US Open. The 21-year-old was defeated by Sofia Kenin in the first round of the final major of the year.
Former Australian Open champ Kenin triumphed 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 on Wednesday to extend Raducanu’s winless streak to three years. She’s struggled for form since claiming a shock victory at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
But off the court, Raducanu has amassed a fortune thanks to her rapidly rising stardom, which the Sunday Times Rich List estimate to be around £10million. And she added $100,000 (£76k) to that this week, the minimum a singles player gets for qualifying for the US Open finals.
Her career winnings stand at just north of £3m, meaning the majority of her wealth has come from sponsorship deals – of which she has nine major contracts. They’re with British Airways, Vodafone, Tiffany, Dior, Porsche, Evian, Wilson, Nike and HSBC.
However, the Telegraph report she’s now facing uncertainty surrounding those deals. Several of them will soon be up for renewal, as well as her management-agency contract with IMG, and her world ranking of No.72 could impact the possibility and value of any extensions.
Raducanu cut a desolate figure after the defeat to Kenin. Questions have been asked about the decision to not schedule any hard-court preparation in America and instead spend a month training at the National Tennis Centre in London.
“I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more before coming into the US Open,” she admitted post-match. “I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good, you feel like everything’s automatic. So yeah, I think I can learn from it and manage my schedule slightly differently.”
When asked to clarify who’s call it was to return closer to home, Raducanu answered: “I would say it wasn’t me. It was more of like a collective call and, yeah, that’s what happened. You can’t really change it.”
She began tearing up in the press conference, adding: “I feel down… I feel, I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in.”
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