RADUCANU'S BEAUTIFUL RAMPARTS : TENNIS

London : Raducanu's ''nan'' wanted her to quit tennis. Niculina was concerned after the US Open winner retired from Wimbledon on health grounds.

London, Sept 18, 2021, [AFP] - 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 the 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 Renne 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.

She would host Emma twice a year in Bucharest in her apartment whilst she would come to the family's home in England to care for granddaughter and recount stories about Romania.

However, she was so anxious for Emma after she retired from her clash with Australian Ajla Tomlijanovic at Wimbledon she dared broach the subject of retirement with Raducanu's parents.

''I asked her parents if she would quit tennis,'' Raducanu told the newspaper after they tracked her down at her Bucharest home.

''Because what if something would happen to Emma?''

''Her health is more important [than wealth or fame]

''The court she played on on that day had a roof over it because it was raining, and she felt she couldn't breathe.''

When it came to last Saturday's US Open final, though, it was the grandmother, not the granddaughter,  who faltered.

''The night she won the U.S. Open [Raducanu beat fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez of Canada 6-4, 6-3], I couldn't watch because my heart couldn't take it,'' she said.

'' I said to myself : This match is going to be a really tough one, so I decided not to watch it."

'' I only found out the news the next day, and I was delighted she was strong and healthy, and that her mind was healthy also.'' [ Reuters ]