'I need to be more like that': Emma Raducanu draws strength from young fan with congenital limb differences

Emma Raducanu has expressed her desire to ‘learn’ from a young fan with congenital limb differences. The 11-year-old Joanie Melady met her idol three days before the start of the ongoing Queen’s Club Championship.

In a video shared by LTA on their official page on the social media platform X, Raducanu met the youngster, who was clearly over the moon after meeting the 2021 US Open winner. “Hey Joanie. How are you?,” asked Raducanu. “Good,” was Joanie’s response. Later, Raducanu shared how incredible it was to meet someone with a disability but still pushing to make her dream come true. Raducanu also stated that she is in ‘awe’ of Joanie and that she would like to ‘learn’ a thing or two from the youngster.

“Yea I heard about that and hear reaction to her favourite player, that was a really touching moment,” she said. “To be able to get on the court with Joanie and feel that lightness and genuine love for the game, love for playing tennis, it is really precious. From her perspective, she was going after what she wants to do, she wants to go play tennis, she is going to play tennis. It doesn’t matter how and, I honestly think I need to be more like that. That’s something I can definitely take and learn from Joanie. Her confidence is incredible and I think, its something that I struggle with, my confidence and to push through like she is honestly inspiring and I am honestly in awe of her.”

In the video, Joanie’s father, Alan, shared how, despite having her left hand missing, the youngster wants to follow in the footsteps of her idol Raducanu and become the best player on the court. He stated that before seeing Raducanu play in the US Open, she had a hard time ‘engaging’ with the sport on TV.

“Joanie was born missing her left hand,” he said. “Her left hand finishes just below the elbow. With Joanie’s limb difference, she could be a little bit shy. She is very driven and very determined. She wants to be the best player on the court. But its less about beating somebody else, its very much around proving she can do it. Tennis for Joanie is definitely an outlet but she struggles to engage with sport on TV. The exception to that was when Emma Raducanu was playing in the US Open. There is a little bit of fire in Joanie as well and so with someone like Emma, she could see some similarity in that.”