EMMA RADUCANU has admitted that sometimes she wishes she had never won the US Open in 2021 – because of how crazy her life has become.
And the British sporting superstar says the tennis tour is an untrusting place and she is constantly on her "guard" to avoid the gold-digging "sharks" who view her as a "piggy bank".
Almost two years ago, the 20-year-old rose to worldwide fame when she won the New York major aged 18 without dropping a set and on her debut.
That sensational victory brought a winners’ cheque of £1.8milllion and she has since earned millions more from blue-chip endorsements and sponsorship deals.
Yet she has failed to live up to the hype since those wonderful days in the Big Apple.
Since that fairy-tale story, Raducanu has struggled to find consistent form and suffered with all manner of physical issues and ailments.
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Raducanu – who still lives with her parents – added: "That moment on the court, when I was celebrating, I was like: I’d literally trade any struggle in the world for this moment.
"Anything can come my way, I’ll take it for what I have right now because this is the best thing in the world.
"I promised myself that, on the court that day. Since then I’ve had a lot of setbacks, one after the other.
"I’m resilient, my tolerance is high, but it’s not easy. And sometimes I think to myself I wish I’d never won the US Open, I wish that didn’t happen.
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"Then I am like, remember that feeling, remember that promise, because it was completely pure."
Raducanu is missing Wimbledon next month as she recovers from having had THREE operations in 13 days.
The Kent star – ranked 130th in the world – had operations on her left hand, one on her right hand and one on her left ankle.
During this prolonged spell on the sidelines, she has been able to reset and remove herself from the relentless 24/7 treadmill of the tennis circuit.
Raducanu told the Sunday Times Style Magazine that she is more cautious now as a person, having been burned by various episodes and individuals.
She said: "When I won I was extremely naive.
"What I have realised in the past two years, the Tour and everything that comes with it, it’s not a very nice, trusting and safe space.
"You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there.
"I think people in the industry, especially with me because I was 19, now 20, they see me as a piggy bank.
"It has been difficult to navigate. I have been burnt a few times. I have learnt, keep your circle as small as possible."
Raducanu has no coach at present after recently splitting with German Sebastian Sachs due to her layoff.
She has had a number of different coaches over the past few years and word of her trigger-happy nature has even reached Buckingham Palace!
When she went to pick up her MBE from King Charles III last November, His Majesty asked: "So, have you found a coach?”
She said: "I was like: ‘That’s good banter!’ It was so funny, I was laughing because everyone was ripping me for not having a coach.
"I was like: ‘The fact you know this, I feel honoured.’"
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