- Briton is back at event where she made her WTA Tour debut
- Says winning US Open at age 18 ‘comes with a lot of challenges’
There was no pre-tournament press conference for Emma Raducanu in Nottingham last summer, no posse of photographers and autograph hunters simply to watch her practice, and no hint of what was to follow, as her first match as a professional ended in a straight-sets defeat.
Just 12 months later, Raducanu returned to where it all began on Monday as the reigning US Open champion and Sports Personality of the Year, a brand ambassador for blue-chip firms including Porsche and Tiffany, and with, by one estimate, £12m already banked in prize money and sponsorships.