“Like you just opened an oven and your head is in there” – Emma Raducanu gets honest about extreme heat conditions at Citi DC Open

Emma Raducanu shed light on the heated conditions of Washington and how difficult it is for players to stay a minute without sweating. Raducanu qualified for the women’s singles semifinals after posting a dominant win over Maria Sakkari at the Mudabala Citi Open on Friday, July 25.

Emma Raducanu has found it challenging to maintain her form this year, exiting multiple tournaments from the Round of 16 or earlier. She reached her career first WTA 1000 quarterfinals at the Miami Open and returned to the top 50 in the WTA rankings. In the grass-court season, she faced difficulties due to persistent back problems, but picked up her momentum on the hardcourt swing at the Citi Open, reaching the semifinals.

However, the win came at the cost of extreme sweat in the hot weather conditions of Washington. Speaking on how humid it is compared to the dry heat of Wimbledon this year, she said (via press conference):

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"I think the humidity here, as well, it just makes it feel completely like you have just opened an oven and it just stayed open and your head is in there. That's how it feels. Wimbledon, it gets hot in England, but it's a drier heat, not quite the same sweating."

"Today, even in the match warmup, you just go outside and you're sweating. Honestly, it's even hotter watching, I think, because you're sat and you don't create any movement and wind and flowing. A credit to everyone, yeah, and much appreciated to getting out higher and watching," she added.

Meanwhile, in women's doubles at the Citi DC Open, Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina contended against the second-seed duo of Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai in the semifinals, but the former pair retired and lost the round.

Emma Raducanu reveals she is scared to face Ben Shelton's serve at the US Open mixed doubles

Emma Raducanu has been paired with the reigning Roland-Garros champion, Carlos Alcaraz, for the upcoming 2025 US Open mixed doubles campaign. While she gears up for a spot in the top eight, the Brit revealed that American player Ben Shelton's serve would be the most terrifying for her.

Speaking at the Citi DC Open press conference, the one-time major winner said:

"Honestly I think, like, Ben Shelton's serve, that scares me. That's probably one in particular. And then obviously all the guys. It's like very difficult to return their serves."

She further added that several other female players would feel the same way as her.

"But of course I'm very excited. It's such a unique opportunity, and I think, you know, a lot of the females will be probably feeling the say way. Returning the guys' serve is quite difficult," she added.

Ben Shelton recorded a 143 mph ace, the fastest serve at the US Open in 2024.

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About the author

Agnijeeta Majumder

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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