Emma Raducanu's early life in South London including school 'not surprised by' tennis success

Emma Raducanu has impressed once again at Wimbledon this year as she prepares to take on qualifier Lulu Sun in the fourth round. She eased past ninth seed Maria Sakkari in the last round, winning 6-2 6-3 to progress to the last 16.

Although Emma became a household when she won the US Open in 2021 aged just 18, many will be surprised to hear she began her tennis days in South East London. She was born in Toronto, Canada in 2002 to a Romanian father and Chinese mother before moving to Bromley aged two.

Here she attended Bickley Primary School where her passion for tennis developed, before she moved to Newstead Wood School in Orpington. Raducanu also excelled academically at the selective grammar school, obtaining an A* in maths and an A in economics in her A-Levels.

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Liz Blake, headteacher at Emma's former school in Bromley, Bickley Primary School, spoke of her pride over the teenager’s success just after she made it through to the US Open final in 2021 - before going on to win it.

"Staff who taught Emma are not surprised by her success," Liz said. “In Reception class, when Emma was five-years-old, she could hold rallies, when most children found it difficult for the racquet to make contact with the ball.

“She was always very measured, determined and competitive and won the sprint every year. She was very bright and good at all subjects, maths in particular."

Emma revisited Bickley Primary School in 2021 just months before her grand slam victory. Here she rallied with pupils and took pictures as they welcomed back the tennis star.

Emma's US Open success made her go from being relatively unknown to a household name overnight as she became the youngest Grand Slam champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004. She was also named BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, and even received an MBE for her contributions to the sport.

The tennis star isn't just acing it on the court, with reported career winnings of over £3 million; she's also developing a staggering net worth. The Sunday Times Rich List estimates her net worth to be a cool £10 million, and Forbes ranked her as the world's sixth highest-paid tennis player last year.

But Raducanu may have been outdone when it came to bank balances when she reportedly began dating Carlo Agostinelli, son of billionaire Robert Agostinelli, chairman and co-founder of the Rhone Group. Carlo himself is a promising footballer who spent three months at Tottenham Hotspur before moving on to Stanford University in the US.

However, it seems that the romance may have been short lived, as the tennis sensation stopped following Agostinelli on social platforms just before Wimbledon kicked off. Raducanu had previously opened up about her strict upbringing, revealing to The Times: "My parents were very much against [boyfriends] as it interfered with training. When I was younger I wasn't even allowed to hang out with my girl friends."

She reflected on the impact of her parents' rules, admitting: "A lot of the time I was very resentful. But it made me very confident and comfortable in my own company, which is also a big strength."

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