Luke Littler and Emma Raducanu shook up their respective sports as teenagers (Image: Getty)
and have shared common ground since shaking up their respective sports as teenagers.
Raducanu came through qualifying to win the in 2021, aged just 18. Littler was a year younger when he scooped up his first at the Alexandra Palace last week, 12 months after narrowly missing out in the final.
For Littler, who has shot up to second in the world rankings, his priority will be to maintain his momentum and avoid a backwards slide after accomplishing so much at such a young age. Raducanu knows a thing or two about that, having slipped down the WTA pecking order and suffered a string of disappointing Grand Slam finishes while grappling with injury issues.
Raducanu’s reflections in an interview with in 2023 could prove useful for Littler if he uses it as a warning to harness the feeling of his early accomplishments and ride the crest of the wave.
Having struggled to match the early standards she set for herself, Raducanu was left wondering whether winning the US Open was a good thing at all.
“Sometimes I think to myself I wish I’d never won the US Open, I wish that didn’t happen,” she said. “Then I am like, remember that feeling, remember that promise, because it was completely pure.”
Luke Littler defeated Michael van Gerwen in the World Darts Championship final (Image: Getty)
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The speed and scale of Raducanu and Littler’s respective rises was astonishing. Raducanu, now 22, was crowned Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) after prevailing at Flushing Meadows, and a series of lucrative sponsorship deals have seen her net worth soar to a reported .
Littler picked up £500,000 in prize money for winning the World Darts Championship and has changed his family’s lives in the space of 12 months. The nation’s eyes are fixated on what both of them will do next.
As one of the world’s top four players, Littler is guaranteed entry into this year’s Darts, which he won in 2024. Raducanu, meanwhile, is ramping up her preparations for the Australian Open.
The Brit – ranked 56th in the world – has never got further than the second round in Melbourne. And her pre-tournament routine has been far from ideal this time round, with a back issue forcing her to pull out of the ASB Classic in Auckland last week.