Emma Raducanu has good advice for Luke Littler: "Take time to enjoy it"

Saturday, 13 January 2024 at 11:00

The hype-train surrounding Luke Littler shows no sign of slowing down. The 16-year-old Englishman has made consistent headlines since reaching the World Darts Championship final.

Littler lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries in the final of the World Darts Championship. But 'The Nuke' had stolen the hearts of a particularly large number of people.

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That had not escaped his compatriot Emma Raducanu who was similarly thrown into the limelight after she shocked the world by winning the US Open. “My friend just sent me a picture of the boy who was like 16, who made the final. She was like, 'I can't believe this guy's only 16 years old,'" she says.

Raducanu became the youngest British player ever to win a Grand Slam when she won the 2021 US Open as an 18-year-old wildcard. Her sudden success threw her into the spotlight and attracted sponsorship deals from Tiffany & Co, Dior, Evian, British Airways, Vodafone and Porsche. In the years that followed, however, Raducanu struggled to confirm, going out early each time at the last five Grand Slam tournaments.

As such, she has some good advice for Littler. “I would just say, keep your circle close, take time to actually enjoy it all, and don't rush into the next thing straightaway.”