Emma Raducanu rose to fame last year after becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam event, following her victory at September's US Open.
Raducanu shocked the world when prevailing at Flushing Meadows at just 18 years old, to write her name into tennis folklore.
And now she has revealed her US Open triumph came just two years after deciding she wanted to actually become a professional competitor.
Discussing her decision to turn pro with Harper’s Bazaar, the teenager said: “The moment [that] it really clicked in that I wanted to be a tennis player was actually pretty recently.
“I kept my education up all the way until finishing my A Levels, so maybe mid-GCSEs I was like, ‘okay, I’m not going to go to college, I’m going to try and be a professional tennis player, see how it works.’
“I always had my education to fall back on.”
During her interview Raducanu also spoke about that famous night in New York, and how her victory at Flushing Meadows changed her life.
She said: “The career moment that changed my life was probably the US Open.
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“On the match point, I mean it was the best moment of my career for sure. Since then I’ve had a lot of new things that have been exciting, and yeah that is probably the moment.
She continued: “The most surreal moment has probably been when I landed that ace, because it was just a second of I had no idea what happened, what I was doing, where I was.
“I think just that sense of unknown was pretty surreal.”
Winning the US Open and being catapulted into the public eye has of course led to scrutiny and opinion from others she had never come across before.
Following the win in New York Raducanu’s form has been somewhat underwhelming to many, winning just three ATP Tour matches since securing her Grand Slam crown.
This run has led to some critics and question marks, however the Brit has revealed the best advice she has received is to block any outside negativity out.
“The best career advice is to just have to have the strongest self belief in yourself, because at the end of the day there’s going to be a lot of outside noises and pressures," Raducanu added.
“But it’s the person, it’s you that is going out on the court and facing everyone yourself so I think that is the strongest thing.”
