“It was a pretty surreal experience” Emma Raducanu recalls playing tennis with the Duchess of Cambridge
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Emma Raducanu and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge
Ever since she won the 2021 US Open, 19-year old British tennis prodigy Emma Raducanu is no less than a celebrity in Great Britain. Emma’s win in New York ended Britain’s wait of 53 years for a woman US Open champion as Virginia Wade won the 1968 US Open while also ending Britain’s wait of 44 years for a woman Grand Slam champion since Virginia’s 1977 Wimbledon victory.
Emma received a hero’s welcome when she came back home and with massive media coverage, she also received a message from the Queen of England for her achievements as she was also the first British Grand Slam champion since Andy Murray won the 2016 Wimbledon, his 3rd and so far his last.
This was not the only interaction Emma had with the Royal family as shortly after, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, played at an event organised by the Lawn Tennis Association of which the Duchess is the patron. The event was organised for the victorious players at the US Open as apart from Emma, Joe Salisbury won the men’s doubles and mixed doubles titles while the team of Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid won the wheelchair men’s doubles.
“I think the Duchess is such a great inspiration, just with how she handles everything and how she does so much good work for charities. She’s a real inspiration to the whole country. It was a pretty surreal experience to be playing tennis with the Duchess. It was kind of crazy, but she was really down to earth and normal. So I found it a really cool experience,” said Emma further adding that the Duchess has an incredible forehand and she played really well.
Emma Raducanu set to return to action this week
Emma will be back in competitive tennis this week as the Brit will take on Tokyo Olympics single gold medallist Belinda Bencic at the upcoming 3-day exhibition tournament, the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championships. It will be a one-off match as the event will then shift its focus to men’s singles.
The event is scheduled in Abu Dhabi from 16 to 19th December from where Emma will then travel to Australia for the 2022 season where she will begin her first full tour.
Also Read: Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep all set to start their 2022 season in Melbourne
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)