Emma Raducanu Reveals Why She Finds it Hard to Compete Against Players She’s Friends With

Emma Raducanu will face Naomi Osaka in the second round of the Washington Open.

Emma Raducanu Reveals Why She Finds it Hard to Compete Against Players She’s Friends With

Emma Raducanu (via X/Citi Open)

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Emma Raducanu has been one of the most popular players on tour since winning the 2021 US Open title. Although she’s yet to win any big title after that, she has a huge fan base. However, the Brit doesn’t have enough friends on the WTA circuit, and she recently shed light upon the same.

In recent years, women’s tennis players have spoken about friendship with players they face on the court. Aryna Sabalenka is known to be a good friend of Paula Badosa and both have spent time together occasionally. The same can also be said about the friendship between Ons Jabeur and Badosa on tour.

Raducanu is currently competing at the Washington Open, where she’s partnering with Elena Rybakina in the doubles category. They opened their account in the round of 16, beating Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls 2-6, 7-6, 11-9 to earn a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament. They will now take on Giuliana Olmos and Aldila Sutjiadi for a place in the semi-finals.

Raducanu is also competing in the singles category of the DC Open, and she secured her place in the round of 16 after beating Marta Kostyuk in straight sets. It was a revenge for her second-round loss against the Ukrainian star at the Madrid Open. The former World No.10 will now face Naomi Osaka next at the WTA 500 tournament.

During her press conference at the tournament, she was asked why she doesn’t have many friends on tour. The British star revealed that if she does have friends it will be difficult for her to compete in the circuit:

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. 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 is still chasing her first title in over two years. At Washington, she will be hoping to get over the line and win the tournament having gained confidence on the court during the clay-court and grass-court seasons. Last year, she reached the quarter-finals of the DC Open before losing to eventual champion Paula Badosa.

Emma Raducanu opens up about her clash against Naomi Osaka at Washington Open

Emma Raducanu is set to face Naomi Osaka for the first time in her career in the round of 16 of the Washington Open. The tie is set to be a clash of Grand Slam champions. However, Osaka won her first major title at the 2018 US Open, three years before Raducanu followed suit. The Japanese star went on to claim three more Grand Slam titles.

Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu (Image via X/British Tennis Players)

Ahead of their meeting, Raducanu revealed that she has never spoken to the former World No.1 in her career. She added that Osaka was already a known figure on tour before she claimed her first major title:

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.

Before the Washington Open, Raducanu ended her Wimbledon campaign in the third round after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. The same happened to Osaka as she fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round.

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