Emma Raducanu’s $2.5 million prize money from her historic US Open win is an afterthought for the tennis sensation.
In a recent interview, the 18-year-old was asked how she plans to spend the winnings, and she said, “I will just leave that to my parents. They can take that for me.”
Raducanu, who arrived back home in Britain on Thursday morning, admitted that she has yet to check her bank account to see if her prize money arrived.
“I haven’t done anything or bought anything yet,” she said. “I know tennis is an expensive sport. From everything, travel and expenses. It’ll probably go towards that. I don’t really think of the money side of that. I know there are a lot of taxes and expenses.”
When she arrived home from New York, where she attended Monday’s Met Gala, Raducanu said she enjoyed a quiet celebration with her family in Bromley.
“My mum made some really good homemade dumplings but there was nothing crazy or over the top,” she said.
Raducanu brought a women’s singles Grand Slam title to Britain for the first time in more than 44 years. She is the first qualifier ever to win a grand slam.
Currently, her US Open trophy is being shipped from New York to Britain, where she plans to put it “front and centre” on a shelf in her home, “or maybe I’ll do a nice display for it.”
Raducanu also admitted that she rewatched her US Open final at Flushing Meadows, where she defeated Leylah Fernandez of Canada in a straight-set 6-4, 6-3.
“Last night, I actually re-watched the final and tried to relive a couple of the moments and remember how it felt, so it is sinking in a little more. It’s funny because when I was watching it, it almost feels like that’s not me that was playing and pulling off some of those shots, it feels like it’s someone else,” she admitted.
“I knew exactly what was going to happen but still it’s a very tense moment and, re-watching it, I was really proud of how I came through some tough moments and also the [medical] timeout at the end – I didn’t realise how stressful that was on TV compared to live.”
