Emma Raducanu insists she's 'learned how to say no' after wave of sponsorship deals that followed her US Open success - and claims she's now 'putting myself first'
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Emma Raducanu is enjoying the crisp evenings and sparkling city streets while she can. ‘December in London is my favourite time of the year,’ says the 22-year-old, but on Friday she will swap baubles for barbies as she flies to New Zealand to begin preparations for the Australian Open.
![[Raducanu won the 2021 US Open as a teenager but has struggled to reach those heights again]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/12/90474373-14197563-Raducanu_won_the_2021_US_Open_as_a_teenager_but_has_struggled_to-a-3_1734353950675.jpg)
‘I’ll be in Auckland’, says Raducanu of her Christmas Day plans. ‘My best friend lives there so the last two years I’ve been with her and her family. She has a little beach hut so it’s a hot Christmas with a barbecue on the beach – it’s different!’.
![[Emma Raducanu, pictured above at the Dior Cruise 2025 show, is signed to a number of brands]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/12/92958763-14197563-Emma_Raducanu_pictured_above_at_the_Dior_Cruise_2025_show_has_be-a-4_1734353953429.jpg)
Whatever the temperature, the festive season is a time for reflection and Raducanu has been reflecting on some lessons learned in a career like no other. She has invited us to the National Tennis Centre to talk about her body and her mind: why injury problems have led her to appoint Japanese fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura; finding new motivation after achieving a lifetime ambition; and how she has learned to say no to some of the sponsorship demands which broke upon her like a tidal wave after the 2021 US Open victory.
![[Tiffany (left) and Vodafone (right) are also part of Raducanu's endorsement portfolio]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/12/92958769-14197563-Raducanu_attends_a_Tiffany_event_back_in_2021-a-5_1734353961693.jpg)
To begin with that final point: Tiffany, Dior, Vodaphone, BA, Evian and Porsche came calling following that fairytale of New York and Raducanu acknowledges it has taken her time to strike a balance with her day job. British tennis star Emma Raducanu spoke on dealing with sponsorship deals away from tennis.
![[The 22-year-old admitted she 'wasn't prepared' for the wave of sponsorship deal that came]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/13/93193651-14197563-image-a-10_1734354297037.jpg)
