Emma Raducanu has confessed she doesn’t have many friends on the WTA Tour ahead of her clash with Naomi Osaka at the Washington Open.
The British tennis star is out in the United States to prepare for the US Open – the final major event of the year – which gets underway next month.
Raducanu, the world No.46, conjured up a brilliant 7-6 6-4 win over seventh-seed Marta Kostyuk in Washington on Tuesday to reach the last 16.
Her victory has set up a battle between two former Grand Slam champions, Raducanu and Osaka, who have never faced each other on the WTA Tour.
Raducanu: I don’t have many friends in tennis
Speaking ahead of that showdown, Raducanu 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.
‘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 plays down comparisons to Osaka
Raducanu, who won her only major title to date at the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, has highlighted that she and Osaka have been on very different career paths, with her Japanese opponent having won four Grand Slams.
Osaka, five years older that the Brit, has also previously enjoyed 25 weeks as the world No.1, while Raducanu’s career-high ranking is world No.10.
‘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,’ Raducanu, 22, added.
‘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.
‘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 vs Osaka start time and how to watch
Raducanu shook her head when quizzed if she had met Osaka before.
The two players are set to lock horns around 6pm UK time today (Thursday, July 24) with the clash being shown live on Sky Sports Tennis.
