Newly-crowned US Open champion Emma Raducanu’s grandmother Niculina Raducanu wanted her to quit tennis so concerned was she about her health after breathing difficulties forced her to retire from her Wimbledon Last 16 match this year.
The 88-year-old Romanian told The Daily Mail her granddaughter’s “health is more important (than wealth or fame).”
Fortunately for 18-year-old Briton Raducanu neither her father Ian (son of Niculina) nor Chinese mother Renee took the advice and she swept through the US Open to become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title.
Niculina Raducanu — known to Emma as ‘Mamiya’ a Romanian term of endearment for grandmothers — is close to her granddaughter.
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