- Raducanu and Littler achieved sports stardom as teenagers
- The Nuke became the youngest world darts champion in history in January.
- Raducanu seeks inspiration as Australian Open campaign begins
There are not many who can identify with what it is like to be Emma Raducanu, catapulted overnight from anonymity to stardom. But one of the few is Luke Littler.
The comparison was made to Littler around this time last year, after his second-place finish at the World Championships, and the darts prodigy seemed to have only a vague idea of who Raducanu was.
The 2021 US Open champion was a little less confused: She didn't realize that Littler had improved and won the whole thing earlier this month.
“Unbelievable respect for him, to go out there, back him up and win the title,” she said, before being asked if she would be willing to meet Nuke.
“Big time,” responded Raducanu, who will face 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of the Australian Open tomorrow morning.
'I would love to meet top athletes who have been successful in their fields. Darts is such a precision sport that I would be very interested to hear what you have to say about it, how you stay focused, because you can be very close but not necessarily hit the final shot. In that sense, it's similar to tennis.”
Emma Raducanu rose to fame as a teenager when she famously claimed a US Open title in 2021.
Luke Littler dazzled Alexandra Palace to win his first World Championship in January, beating Michael van Gerwen in the final and becoming the youngest world champion in history at just 17 years old.
Does she herself step on the oche? “No, I'm really tragic,” she said. 'I've played with magnetic darts but… no, I need to try it.'
Littler, so far, seems to be taking everything in stride, but Raducanu has at times struggled to cope with the transformation of his life. Being plagued by paparazzi is just one thing she's been forced to adapt to. “There's not much that prepares you for that, you feel constantly nervous because they're following you,” he confessed.
'But I think the most important part is the judgment and feedback on every decision you make.
“It was very difficult for me to deal with that, to try to desensitize myself and understand that it comes with the territory that you find yourself in.”
Raducanu has been reflective recently, remembering the aftermath of her historic victory in New York. “I didn't necessarily have very solid foundations when I won the US Open,” he said. 'Now I am building them and also forming a good team around me.
“I feel like I'm in a place where I'm doing the work consistently and I can build from here.”
When Raducanu talks about building a good team, the most recent addition is fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura and she reveals that he was key in her decision to withdraw from the ASB Classic in Auckland, just before the Australian Open.
That withdrawal sparked the usual social media attack, but Raducanu has learned to leave it all out.
Raducanu faces 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in Australian Open first round
The Brit has focused solely on staying fit for the Major, withdrawing from the ASB Classic in Auckland just before the Australian Open to ensure she can perform.
“Last year I probably would have played,” he said. “But I think I'm gaining maturity and discipline to say, 'This is how I'm going to do it.'
'I'm not going to get carried away by comments or anything like that because I know there is a risk of going backwards and causing great damage to the existing problem.
“That's where it was really helpful to have Yutaka and Nick (Cavaday, his coach) tell me what the situation is and be pretty firm about the decision.”