Emma Raducanu has opened up about the challenges of forming friendships on the WTA Tour as she gears up to face Naomi Osaka for the first time at this week’s Citi Open in Washington. The British tennis star advanced to the second round, where she will meet four-time Major winner Osaka.
The careers of Raducanu and Osaka have often been compared, with both Grand Slam champions experiencing periods of struggle and opting out of most or all of the 2023 season. However, world No. 46 Raducanu feels her journey post-U.S. Open win involved more “dips”, and she revealed a disheartening reason for her hesitance to befriend fellow players like Osaka.
Both women clinched their first Major titles at Flushing Meadows. Osaka was a mere 20 years old when she triumphed over tennis legend Serena Williams in a contentious 2018 final that saw Williams penalized by the umpire.
Fast forward three years, and an 18-year-old Raducanu made history in her fourth professional tournament, becoming the first qualifier to secure a Grand Slam title. Despite each having faced their share of adversity since then, the British No. 3 believes their introductions to the sport were markedly different.
“When I won my U.S. Open, I came from school, I was no one, I was 200 in the world, and Naomi had already won Indian Wells. 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,” Raducanu shared.
“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, back-to-back U.S 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 remains without a title since her stunning U.S. Open victory four years ago, with her strongest tour-level showings since being semifinal runs.
However, she finds common ground with Osaka, who stepped away from tennis in 2023 to become a mother for the first time. That identical year saw Raducanu cut her season short to undergo three operations.
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She added: “It’s good to see the similarities now. I think we have both kind of started doing better and started enjoying the process more and enjoying developing.
“I think it’s nice that after having such big highs and then some lows to both be working towards, you know, going up again.”
Despite their parallel journeys, Raducanu has never had a conversation with the former world No. 1. The British star prefers to keep her distance from competitors, believing close relationships complicate matches.
“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,” she added. “I have really good friends at home that I can trust and speak to. For me, I just find it harder to compete against a person I’m friends with.”
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