While competing at the Citi Open, Emma Raducanu recently opened up about why she has fewer friends on tour. The Brit is currently gearing up for her upcoming match of the ongoing tournament.
Raducanu began her Citi DC Open campaign on July 23, where she competed against Marta Kostyuk in the first round. She showcased her dominance in this showdown by claiming an impressive 7-6(7), 6-4 win over her opponent. With this win, she has now progressed to the second round and is all set to lock horns with Naomi Osaka.
Shortly after the first-round win, the Brit sat for a post-match interview, where she fielded questions surrounding the ins and outs of her friendships on tour. When asked about if she would want to interact with other tennis players more on the tour, she revealed the reason behind having fewer friends on the tour. Opening up about how she finds it difficult to open up with other players, she said:
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"I don't know. I think when we're on the tour, it's very difficult to really open up with other players that you're competing against. I think for me I have a few friends on the tour, but it does add another dimension when you play them," said Emma Raducanu.
Talking about her friends at home, she added:
"I have really good friends at home that I can trust and speak to, but other than that, you know, I don't think that, yeah, this is -- for me, I just find it harder to compete against a person I'm friends with."
Ahead of the Citi Open, Raducanu competed at Wimbledon, which saw her reach the third round, where she was overwhelmed by Aryna Sabalenka.
Emma Raducanu made her feelings known about her loss at Wimbledon against Aryna Sabalenka
Emma Raducanu fell short of dictating the third round against Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon, as the latter dashed her hopes of winning on her home ground by claiming a 7-6(8), 6-4 win. Following this heartbreaking upset, Raducanu sat for a press conference and opened up about her loss while tearing up.
Although she said that it was a hard loss for her to take, she showcased confidence in herself, stating that she was bested by one of the top players. (as quoted by BBC.com)
"It's hard to take a loss like that. At the same time, I'm playing Aryna, who is a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort. It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top," said Emma Raducanu.
She added:
"It's going to take me a few days to process. But at the same time it really motivates me. It could be a good thing that I want to get straight back to work because my game is not far off. There's still a lot of things that I want to do better, a lot of things I want to improve to really solidify my game so that in the big moments I can back myself a little bit more."
Emma Raducanu opened her 2025 season by competing at the Australian Open, where she was defeated by Iga Swiatek, who advanced to the fourth round with a score of 6-1, 6-0.
