Emma Raducanu highly inspired by Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe's "pretty amazing" performances under pressure at FIFA World Cup

Emma Raducanu returned home after watching the FIFA World Cup final with a lot of inspiration to take into her own career. By her own admission, seeing soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe perform at their best under extreme pressure at such a big stage left Raducanu highly impressed.

After the last phase of her own season on the WTA Tour was cut short by injury, the Briton tennis star ended the year by working on her fitness and also catching the World Cup final between Argentina and France in Qatar. The final turned out to be one of the most enthralling matches in recent memory, ending with the legendary Lionel Messi fulfilling his lifelong dream of winning the World Cup, despite Kylian Mbappe's goal-scoring heroics.

Raducanu was really excited to see the soccer duo go head-to-head, applauding them for their brilliance in the final.

"To watch Messi and Mbappe go head-to-head was really cool," Emma Raducanu told Daily Mirror.

"What Mbappe was able to do in that final was amazing. I'm really happy for Messi because he just finished it off perfectly."

The 20-year-old's biggest takeaway from watching the final up close, however, was not the thrill, but learning from the Paris Saint-Germain duo on soaking in all the pressure on the biggest stage and coming up trumps. As she continues to be in the spotlight, Raducanu will carry along the learnings from her World Cup experience.

"It was just so good to see how they kind of handled the stage and the moment," continued Raducanu. "I think you can learn from how they dealt with it, how they just kept going, how they were taking penalties under pressure. It was pretty amazing to watch."

Raducanu was among the many famous names worldwide who attended the big match last month, including fellow tennis superstar Novak Djokovic. The Briton player also shared her experience of meeting Djokovic and was grateful to have been able to pick his brain regarding tennis.

"It was really cool to meet him. He took the time to speak with me, mostly about tennis," Emma Raducanu said on meeting the Serbian great.

Confident about her Australian Open participation after injury scare, Emma Raducanu reveals 'title goal' in 2023 season

Emma Raducanu trains ahead of the 2023 Australian Open.

After a lot of uncertainty surrounding her 2023 Australian Open participation after she suffered an ankle injury at the ASB Classic in Auckland, Emma Raducanu is optimistic about her fitness as she prepares to take to the court for her first-round match against Tamara Korpatsch on Monday.

Starting fresh with the Australian Open, Raducanu aims to have a consistent and healthy 2023 season, above all. At the same time, she also has a deep desire to win at least one title this season.

"This year success would be consistency over a long period, being healthy and playing through. I also really want a title," Raducanu said.

If she gets through the challenge against Korpatsch on Monday, the World No. 77 could face World No. 7 and fellow rising tennis superstar Coco Gauff in the second round. Raducanu won her Round-of-32 match at the ASB Classic before retiring midway through her second-round match, during which she won the first set 6-0.