Emma Raducanu, an 18-year-old British female tennis player, spent a week in the United States before returning to the United Kingdom after winning the women’s singles championship at the US Open. In this week, Radukanu was on the other side of the ocean, but became a British news figure overnight. People’s various anxiety and expectations about sports and society have been projected on this young girl.
First of all, of course, the ambivalence of the commercialization of competitive sports. At the awards ceremony after the finals, there was a link where the sponsor officially handed a check for 2.5 million U.S. dollars to Raducanu. This makes many Britons quite uncomfortable: is it necessary to link the winning of the game with the prize money so undisguised?
At the same time, other people are discussing how to maximize the value of Radukanu’s “brand”. On BBC radio, a sports agent excitedly praised Radu Canu for being “perfect”. Of course, she did not refer to her tennis skills and how calm she was on the court, but that she was “young and has a large number of fans on social media.” , Has a multicultural background, and won the Grand Slam location is the world’s most important consumer goods market in the United States.” In his speech, he unabashedly equated Raducanu with a powerful tool for product promotion. This mentality was compared with the practice of the host happily reporting the bonus numbers at the awards ceremony. I don’t know who is more naked.
If these can be viewed as jokes, other reactions are heavy. Raducanu’s success is naturally a positive example of immigrants’ contributions to society: her father is from Budapest, Romania, and her mother is from Shenyang. She was born in Toronto, Canada, and came to the UK with her parents at the age of two and grew up in London. The self-introduction on her social media account is simple, just the names of these four cities. No wonder that shortly after her victory, the Mayor of London couldn’t wait to claim that she had written the “London Story”. But to what extent does Radukanu’s success alone represent London or the United Kingdom as a beautiful multi-racial and multi-cultural society?
Many people have pointed out that when praising the success of immigrants, they often fall into a trap: only “excellent” immigrants are welcome, and immigrants must “make additional contributions” to “earn” the right to be accepted by society. .
After Raducanu’s victory, even the far-right British politicians posted congratulations, although they were still saying to voters a few years ago: “Dare you let your wife and children sit with Romanian men?” These politicians have long made it. The panic over the immigrants, and Radukanu’s success, turned out to be their fig leaf. In this regard, the London reporter of German ARD TV station has a subtle irony: “Perhaps the UK should welcome more two-year-old immigrants instead of driving them to the sea?” She was referring to the recent attempt by the Secretary of the Interior to pass amendments to the law to prohibit British ships, including coastal lifeboats, were unanimously protesting when they rescued refugees in distress on the coastline.
Like many sports stars, Radukanu bears too much pressure on her young shoulders, but fortunately, she herself seems to be a model girl. She ranked low before participating in the U.S. Open. One of the reasons was that she needed to concentrate on preparing for this year’s British college entrance examination and did not have time to play games to earn ranking points. She also planned to study law and become a barrister in the future.
Of course, her current problem is not which university to choose, but how to maintain peace of mind and focus under the spotlight. Many people called for her space to continue to grow, and some people reminded that being a teenager does not mean that she will be able to replicate successfully in the future. Like most people, we hope she will have a happy life in the future, no matter what path she chooses.
