Emma Raducanu Reveals If She Still Enjoys Tennis After Tough Start to 2026 Season: “I Think It’s Like Any Job”

Emma Raducanu had a difficult start to the 2026 season. She, in fact, has not won a match since the Indian Wells Open, where, after her win over Anastasia Zakharova, she lost to Amanda Anisimova in the third round.

Since then, she lost to Diane Parry in the first round of the Strasbourg Open and suffered an opening-round exit at the French Open, losing in straight sets to Solana Sierra. Because she was affected by a virus, she was forced to withdraw from a few tournaments between the Miami Open and the Italian Open.

Raducanu is now preparing to play at the Queen’s Club Championships, where she is set to face Anna Blinkova in the opening round. Ahead of the tournament, Raducanu was asked during her interview with BBC Sport whether, despite a tough start to the season, she still enjoys tennis.

I don’t think you need to enjoy it all the time. I think it’s like any job; you don’t wake up everyday and feel like every day is a great one. I think doing your best with what you have on the day is extremely important. If you have 10%, maximising it and making it the best 10% is really important. Some days you’ll wake up and it’ll be 100%. Then you give 100%, and you feel amazing. It’s just about being disciplined more than motivation.

Raducanu, however, also reached a final earlier this season. At the Transylvania Open, she lost the title to retirement-bound Sorana Cirstea. It was also the first time she reached a final since her fairytale run at the 2021 US Open.

Last year at the Queen’s, Raducanu reached the quarterfinals and lost the match to Qinwen Zheng. She featured in one more warm-up event (Maya Joint beat her at the Eastbourne International) before Wimbledon. In the grass-court Major, World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka ended her run in the third round.

Emma Raducanu reacts to Maja Chwalinska’s French Open run

Maja Chwalinska needed just one win to become the first player since Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open to win a Grand Slam title as a qualifier. But in the final, the Pole was no match for Mirra Andreeva, who, with a straight-set win, became the first Russian woman since Maria Sharapova at the 2014 French Open to win a Major singles title. Raducanu, during her interview with BBC Sport, was asked about Chwalinska’s campaign.

It’s very rare for someone to come from the qualifying rounds and reach a final, so she did an incredible job. I was very happy to see her play so well; the way she grew during the tournament was impressive, and it will surely give her a lot of confidence in the future.

Emma Raducanu said during her interview with BBC Sport

Chwalinska had never played a main draw match in Paris before this year. Only twice did she feature in the main draw events in Majors before this run, including at Wimbledon in 2022.

These things don’t happen often in tennis, so it was special to see her enjoy and have fun. What I achieved in 2021 is something that no one has repeated so far, but there is still a long time, and someone else could do it. If I could do it, others can too.

Emma Raducanu added

Chwalinska doesn’t want to play any warm-up tournaments before Wimbledon. Also, she is uncertain whether she will be getting the wild card to enter the main draw directly. The 24-year-old, who entered Roland Garros as a player ranked outside of the top 100, has reached her career-best ranking of No.21.

Also read: Maja Chwalinska Tells John McEnroe She Knows Perfectly Who He Is in Hilarious Interaction: “I Watched Vintage Tennis”