The pressure that accompanied her unexpected success was high and she also admitted having to be watchful of those she surrounded herself with.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, the former Grand Slam champion said: "I had to mature very quickly. When I won I was extremely naive."

Raducanu was under the radar prior to the US Open but soared to victory without dropping a single set during the nine matches she played before the final.

However, the British number one realised in the past couple of years that "the tour and everything that comes with it [is] not a very nice, trusting and safe space".

Raducanu added: "You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there."

The 20-year-old hit out at "people in the industry" taking advantage of her because of her age.

"They see me as a piggy bank," she said.

"I have been burnt a few times. I have learnt, keep your circle as small as possible."

Raducanu said she would have traded "any struggle in the world" for the moment she won the championship.

Since her win, she admitted to having "a lot of setbacks, one after another".

After the teenager overpowered Leylah Fernandez to clinch the title and receive $2.5m (£1.8m) two years ago, her journey since has been far from straightforward.

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She missed this year's French Open and won't feature in Wimbledon due to procedures on her hands and ankle.

It also meant her pulling out of the Madrid Open just hours before she was due on court.

She said: "The pain escalated last summer after Wimbledon.

"I started with a new coach and I was really motivated to get going. We were overtraining... and I carried on even through pain because I didn't want to be perceived as weak."

Raducanu's tumultuous season was capped after she was dumped out of the Indian Wells tournament in March by world number one Iga Swiatek, which was followed by first-round defeats in Miami and Stuttgart.