Olympic gold medallist Monica Puig has warned fellow tennis star Emma Raducanu about the toxicity of social media.
Since the Brit won the 2021 US Open, she has been catapulted into the spotlight and boasts a very impressive business portfolio as a result of her success.
However, her high profile status also risks negative attention from people online, and Puig has highlighted this.
What advice has Puig given Raducanu?
Puig did not win a Grand Slam title during her career but she did pick up gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Her win stunned the world as she became just the second unseeded player to win an Olympic medal, and the first ever Puerto Rican to win gold in any sport.
Similar to Raducanu, Puig had an astonishing breakthrough and rose into the spotlight. In her own words, it "came out of nowhere" and took the competition by surprise.
WUHAN, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 24: Monica Puig of Puerto Rico reacts during the match against Alison Riske of USA on Day 3 of 2019 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open at Optics Valley International Tennis Center on September 24, 2019 in Wuhan, China. (Photo by Wang He/Getty Images)
"She [Raducanu] 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," Puig said.
"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."
The Puerto Rican then discussed the negative impact social media can often have on high-profile public figures.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: Emma Raducanu of Great Britain celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada during their Women's Singles final match on Day Thirteen of the 2021 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 11, 2021 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Naturally, Raducanu still has a lot of limelight on her due to the fact she has multiple endorsement deals with big name brands.
"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," Puig continued.
"You're not going to have everybody who loves you. You're going to have those who are not going to like you."
Which brands does Emma Raducanu work with?
Tennis star Emma Raducanu recently signed a deal with Evian
Since her Flushing Meadows fairytale, Raducanu has become an extremely marketable figure.
Her first major endorsement deal was with high-end jeweller Tiffany & Co, and after that, the business deals just kept rolling in.
Here is the full list of the companies that Raducanu has partnered with since the 2021 US Open.
- Tiffany & Co
- Dior
- British Airways
- Evian
- Vodafone
- Porsche
- HSBC
The 20-year-old also appeared on Christmas advertisement for Sports Direct, alongside other British athletes including Jessica Ennis-Hill and Jack Grealish.
You can find all the latest tennis news right here on GiveMeSport.
Quiz: How well do you remember Emma Raducanu's breakthrough year?