Emma Raducanu is told to STOP focusing on ‘toxic’ social media by ex-Olympic champion Monica Puig

Former Olympic champion Monica Puig has urged Emma Raducanu to focus less on social media if the 20-year-old is to return to the top of tennis and repeat her stunning US Open title feat.

Puig, who became the first ever Puerto Rican to win an Olympic gold at Rio 2016, warned that social media is a ‘toxic’ environment, especially for a young tennis star  like Raducanu. 

The young Brit stunned the sport by triumphing at Flushing Meadows as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2021 but has since struggled to kick on in her career.

Plagued by bad luck in the two years since, Raducanu has suffered from blisters and other minor injuries, chopped and changed her coaches and even tested positive for coronavirus whilst preparing for a major tournament.

Puig admitted she ‘sympathises’ with the British star and believes she still has the skillset to return to the summit of the sport.

‘I saw her many times courtside during the US Open when she did win that title and she is a very talented player,’ Puig told Sky Sports.

‘Physically, she’s still very young. I’m not going to say she’s already a very established player with a lot of experience. She won that US Open title having not played many WTA events and she hasn’t had a full calendar.

‘She still needs time to develop and time to find out who she is as a tennis player, who she is as a person and I can sympathise with her because when I won the Olympics it came out of nowhere. 

‘I didn’t have as much media attention as she does and I can only imagine coming from the UK where something like that is so big. It just exploded.’ 

Since her meteoric rise to stardom, Raducanu has regularly used social media to promote her brand deals, developing a sponsorship portfolio that includes Nike, Porsche, Evian, Dior, Wilson, HSBC, Vodafone and British Airways. 

It’s believed her off-court endeavors alone raked in a massive $18million (£15m) for the youngster in the 12 months after her US Open win. 

Puig warned Raducanu not to ‘focus’ on social media, even if it is an effective way of ‘boosting’ one’s brand.

‘Don’t focus on social media because we all know that social media is a great tool to boost your brand but it can be toxic, especially for a person like Raducanu who has so many people following her and so many people who want to see her succeed and also a lot of people who don’t,’ she added.

‘You’re not going to have everybody who loves you. You’re going to have those who are not going to like you.

‘She has a great future ahead of her if she is able to settle herself but once she does and she organises herself in the way that works for her, she can end up making great strides and doing some really great things. Now it’s just about that consistency day in, day out and believing that she can do it again.

‘I’m not saying she needs to leave social media alone altogether because part of being a tennis player is having to deal with all these endorsements that have come her way and she deserves that because she won a Grand Slam title.

‘Those endorsement deals come with obligations and if you don’t meet those obligations the brand is not getting what they need out of you. The brand does need you to perform on court so you’re exposed, you’re out there, you’re promoting their things.

‘You can make more money off the court than on it, but on the court it’s important to focus and dedicate all your time to your craft because that’s what got you there. At the end of the day, wins equal dollar signs and new contracts.’