British tennis player Emma Raducanu has disclosed that she deliberately maintains distance from other competitors on the WTA Tour, believing friendships would complicate her ability to compete effectively against them.
The 22-year-old made this admission during a press conference ahead of her second-round match at the Washington Open, where she faces Naomi Osaka on Thursday evening.
"I think when we're on the tour, it's very difficult to really open up with other players that you're competing against," Raducanu explained.
She acknowledged having limited friendships within the tour, noting that personal connections create an additional layer of complexity when facing those players in matches.
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|British tennis player Emma Raducanu has disclosed that she deliberately maintains distance from other competitors on the WTA Tour, believing friendships would complicate her ability to compete effectively against 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," she added.
The former US Open champion indicated that she relies on her established circle of trusted companions away from the professional circuit for emotional support.
When questioned about her acquaintance with Osaka before their Washington encounter, Raducanu shook her head, confirming they had not previously met despite both being prominent figures in women's tennis.
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|Emma Raducanu will be hoping to win the Washington Open this summer
Furthermore, Raducanu drew distinctions between her unexpected breakthrough and Osaka's more conventional rise to prominence in professional tennis.
"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 reflected.
"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."
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Osaka had secured four Grand Slam titles before Raducanu's 2021 triumph, including two victories each at the Australian Open and US Open.
In contrast, Raducanu characterised her own victory as emerging "completely out of nowhere."
She acknowledged that this sudden emergence meant she lacked the established foundations that enabled Osaka to sustain her success.
"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," she explained.
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|Emma Raducanu faces Naomi Osaka at the Washington Open tonight
"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."
Recent performances at Wimbledon, where she defeated 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova before falling to top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the third round, have shown encouraging signs of improvement.