IT’S NICE TO KNOW SOME ARE TRYING TENNIS BECAUSE OF ME, SAYS EMMA

EMMA RADUCANU says she is humbled to think her US Open win is behind a surge in young people taking up tennis in London.

The 19-year-old from Bromley was making her Centre Court debut at Wimbledon this afternoon against Belgium’s Alison van Uytvanck. She reached the fourth round of the tournament on her breakthrough debut last year, before going on to make history at the US Open a few weeks later.

Despite her new-found stardom, she recalled that she was once “shy” and “clinging onto the fence” because she was so intimidated by the thought of joining boys on the court.

Figures from the Lawn Tennis Association show how the British No1 and SW19 10th seed has inspired a new generation to pick up their racquets since her grand slam win. More children play tennis once a month than they do any other sport, except football. Female annual participation has increased by 11 per cent, and 10 per cent more aged 16 to 34 are playing.

Raducanu said: “It’s a really nice feeling just to think that some youngsters might pick up tennis because they’ve watched me or what I did. That’s always something that I wanted to do, is to inspire the younger generation. To see those players come through, especially maybe some of the younger girls who might feel like they’re really shy or they don’t want to play with the boys, I can totally relate to that because I’ve been there.

“I went through that myself. I was really shy. I was clinging onto the fence. I didn’t want to go on the court. But it just opens up so many opportunities. I definitely grew a lot as a person just playing tennis, it gives you more confidence.”

Separately, data from Spin, a Londonbased app which allows players to find a partner at the same skill level, says Raducanu’s victory and the return of Andy Murray is behind a spike in Londoners taking up tennis. Chief executive Ganesh Rao said: “Interest in tennis is through the roof. We’ve seen a 72 per cent spike in tennis activity on Spin compared to the same time last year.”

Ahead of her return on home ground, Raducanu has convinced Jane O’Donoghue, her childhood coach from the Lawn Tennis Association, to be by her side at SW19 and help her recapture the form that saw her triumph at the US Open.