The lonely tour life of Emma Raducanu: Brit tennis star opens up on why she doesn’t have friends in her sport – and what she finds ‘very difficult’ on tour
Emma Raducanu has revealed why she is not friends with many of her fellow competitors on the WTA Tour.
Raducanu, 22, has endured mixed fortunes since bursting onto the scene four years ago as she won the US Open at the age of 18 – while becoming the first-ever qualifier to win a Grand Slam title.
The Brit has struggled for consistency in her career ever since, admitting to suffering panic attacks while on court in the past and having to overcome the harrowing ordeal of confronting a stalker at one of her matches in Dubai in February.
Attending a press conference prior to her second round match at the Washington Open against Naomi Osaka on Thursday evening, Raducanu opened up when asked about her relationships with other players.
She said: ‘I think when we’re on the tour, it’s very difficult to really open up with other players that you’re competing against,’ she said.
‘I think for me, I have a few friends on the tour, but it does add another dimension when you play them.
Emma Raducanu has admitted that she does not have many friendships with fellow players on the WTA tour
The Brit has struggled for continuity in her career since winning the US Open aged 18, admitting to suffering panic attacks while on court in the past
She has also had to overcome the harrowing ordeal of witnessing a stalker attend a match of hers in Dubai in February
‘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.’
Raducanu also shook her head when asked if she had met Osaka before, who she will face on tour for the first time in Washington.
However, she attributed that to the very different paths to the top that both players had taken in their respective careers.
Before Raducanu won the US Open in 2021, Osaka had already lifted four Grand Slams of her own, winning both the French Open and Australian Open on two occasions to establish herself as one of the world’s top players.
She was also the top ranked women’s player from January 2019 and has held the title of world number one for 25 weeks over the course of her career.
That was a factor highlighted by Raducanu, who added: ‘When I won my US Open, I came from school, I was no one, I was 200 in the world, and Naomi [Osaka] had already won’.
‘She was already a known figure on the tour, and people kind of expected, okay, like, she’s going to start doing well and start winning Slams.
‘Whereas I think when I won, it was completely out of nowhere. It means that I didn’t quite build the foundations she had when she won her Grand Slams, which I think is why she was able to repeat and win another three, you know, back-to-back US Open and Australia.
Attending a press conference prior to her second round match at the Washington Open against Naomi Osaka on Thursday evening, Raducanu opened up when asked about her relationships
Raducanu added that she had never met Naomi Osaka, who she will play in the Washington Open on Thursday evening
‘I think she was an established pro tour player, whereas I didn’t necessarily feel that way. It’s probably why I had a lot more dips afterwards.’
Raducanu will be hoping to advance to the quarter-finals in Washington after an impressive showing at this year’s Wimbledon.
She showed flashes of her brilliance with victories in her opening two matches of the tournament, including a victory over 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Her run came to an end in the third round in battling loss to top seed Aryna Sabalenka – although it provided hope for Raducanu’s fans that she is returning to somewhere near her best after a tumultuous last few years.
