British tennis star Emma Raducanu has expressed her keen interest in meeting teenage darts sensation Luke Littler, declaring she would “love” to meet him “big time”.
The 22-year-old former US Open champion praised Littler’s recent achievements during a press conference, showing admiration for her fellow British sporting prodigy.
“Amazing respect to him, going out and backing it up and winning the title,” Raducanu said when asked about the 17-year-old darts champion.
The two young British sports stars share similar experiences of early success and sudden fame, though they have yet to meet in person.
Emma Raducanu is keen to meet Luke Littler
PA
Raducanu expressed particular interest in learning from Littler’s approach to his precision sport.
“I’d love to meet any top athletes who have succeeded in their fields,” she added.
“Darts is such a precision sport, I’d be so interested to hear what he had to say about it, how he stays focused.”
The tennis star drew parallels between darts and tennis, noting that “you can be so close but not necessarily execute the final shot. In that sense, it’s similar to tennis”.
When asked about her own darting abilities, Raducanu was refreshingly modest. “No, I’m really tragic,” she admitted.
“I’ve played with magnetic darts but… no, I need to try it out.”
Luke Littler won the world title earlier this year
PA
Raducanu showed understanding of the intense media spotlight that Littler now faces, drawing from her own experiences.
“Not much prepares you for that, you feel like you’re constantly on edge because you’re being followed,” she revealed.
The tennis star highlighted the particular challenge of public scrutiny.
“The biggest part is the judgment and the comments about every single decision that you make,” she said.
“That for me was really difficult to deal with, to try and desensitise myself to it and just understand that it comes with the territory you’re in.”
Both young athletes have faced similar pressures following their meteoric rises to sporting stardom.
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Raducanu is set to compete in the Australian Open, where she will face Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round on Tuesday.
The world number 61 recently made the decision to withdraw from the ASB Classic in Auckland to protect her fitness ahead of the Melbourne tournament.
“Last year I probably would have played. But I think I’m growing the maturity and discipline to be like, ‘This is how I’m going to do it’,” she explained.
The decision was supported by her fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura and coach Nick Cavaday, with Raducanu determined not to risk aggravating existing problems.
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