Emma Raducanu Inspired by Andre Agassi's Journey Back to Tennis Top
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'Be comfortable in your own identity' - Agassi's advice to Raducanu
By John Watson, BBC Sport presenter, and Harry Poole, BBC Sport journalist
As Emma Raducanu plots a route back to the pinnacle of tennis, the Briton has been taking inspiration from Andre Agassi's 2009 autobiography.
Five years have passed since Raducanu's remarkable US Open triumph, when at the age of 18 she became the first qualifier in the Open era to win a Grand Slam. American Agassi was a teenage prodigy himself and later claimed the first of his eight major singles titles at Wimbledon in 1992 aged 22.
But between the peak years of his career, he had to overcome a challenging period when he went four years without a major and dropped to 141st in the world rankings.
"I was especially intrigued by the passage where he got out of his slump in the late 1990s by creating his own training regimen and finding his way back to the top," Raducanu told Uniqlo.
Agassi's autobiography speaks in depth about his early successes and the lows he reached, perhaps as a result of them. "A lot of it was so relatable," said Raducanu.
Agassi on his advice for Raducanu:
"It's wonderful to hear that anybody can relate," Agassi told BBC Breakfast. "It was literally the hope that if one person read it and it gave them hope, some tools to understand that they're not alone, they can figure it out and get to a healthier place without having to direct their frustrations at the game of tennis, then it was a success for me."
Raducanu's Return and Challenges
Raducanu reached a career-high ranking of 10 in July 2022 but has since slipped to 98th. Her progress continues to be hampered by physical issues, including a stress fracture in her lower right leg, which kept her off the court for two-and-a-half months this year.
Despite these setbacks, Raducanu enjoyed one of the best weeks of her career at Queen's Club in June, reaching her biggest final since her US Open triumph.
Agassi's Legacy and Advice
A multi-Grand Slam champion and Olympic singles gold medalist, Agassi said he would encourage Raducanu to:
"Focus on being the best of herself on a daily basis, but don't judge that by results or thinking that somehow you have to be 100%. You have to learn to be 100% of whatever per cent is your best."