ANALYTICAL BREAK: EMMA RADUCANU'S OFF-COURT STRATEGY WITH NEW COACH
Emma Raducanu opens up on her tough 2025 season, revealing how she overcame stalker-related fears and finds mental peace by promoting her quiet off-season in Bromley.
Emma Raducanu has landed many endorsement deals early in her career. Yet, becoming an ambassador for the London borough of Bromley might be her dream sponsorship.
During a chat with tennis reporters after a tough but rewarding season, Raducanu was just trying to describe her quiet off-season at home when she started promoting Bromley. “I feel so settled here,” she said. “I haven’t been in the UK much this year because of competitions, but spending time with my parents has been great. I’ve loved being in Bromley. It reminds me of being a kid—same bedroom, everything.”
“Bromley now has these great coffee shops that didn’t used to be here. I’ve been trying them all. It’s been fun, with so much green space, and I’ve been taking the train. I’ve been in rush hour every day, which is something. But it’s my way to switch off. As soon as I’m on the train to Waterloo, I feel like my day is done.”
The peace Raducanu talks about comes after a good, if not amazing, season where she moved forward. She climbed from outside the top 60 to number 29 in 2025, her best ranking since 2022. This year, she played more often with fairly steady results.
She’s also worked to stabilise her team, which has been a problem. She seems to be doing well with her coach, Francisco Roig, who used to coach Rafael Nadal. She’ll start the 2026 season with a new physiotherapist and strength coach, Emma Stewart, who has experience in tennis and recently worked with the British Rowing team.
Lately, though, she’s been trying not to think about tennis. After ending her season early in Asia due to illness, she spent time improving her Chinese while visiting family in her mother’s home country and her Spanish at Roig’s suggestion, along with French. “I was trying to do everything,” she said, smiling. “I need rest days from my rest days. It takes a lot.”
As the 2021 US Open champ talked about learning languages, someone from her team joked that she now sends him texts in French, even though he doesn’t speak it. “It’s funny because I start mixing languages,” Raducanu said. “I’ll say a sentence in three different languages and not even know what I’m saying. But it’s been great for me to focus on something else and use my brain. It’s the best thing for me, and I feel pretty good, just trying to improve off the court.”
Besides good results, 2025 had tough times. In February, Raducanu had issues with someone who was fixated on her, which made headlines. These events affected her confidence. She once said her neck hurt from looking down in public to avoid being recognised. “Now it doesn’t. My neck doesn’t hurt as much. I’m not looking down as much. My posture is better,” she said, laughing. “But I think, ‘Are they going to see me on the train?’ It’s not so bad.”
Raducanu’s comfort in the city during the off-season shows she’s moved past the incident. “I’ve gotten over it,” she said. “What bothered me was seeing a photo of myself in London, and I didn’t see the paparazzi. I was with my two best friends. This happened last week, and some tabloid said I had a new boyfriend. But he’s my best friend’s brother. I thought, ‘Come on, guys. Get it right.’ I was with my best friend’s brother, and we were going to the rugby. They cropped my best friend out, so it was just me and me, and I didn’t see the paparazzi. That’s creepy. How did they take that photo? Other than that, I feel good knowing someone’s always watching out for me.”
Off the court, 2025 was a tough year in tennis. The latest discussions are about the long season, with players saying it’s too hard. But Raducanu has other ideas compared to players like Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and fellow British number one, Jack Draper.
“I think it’s a challenge,” she said. “I don’t think we should complain because that’s what we have. We earn a good living, too. It’s not always great. It’s hard sometimes, and we’re tired mentally and physically, and everything hurts. But what can we do? Some people have bosses who make them do things, but they have to do their job. If we don’t complain, it sets a better example for younger people who want to play tennis. If they see top players complaining about the schedule, it’s not inspiring.”
Next time Raducanu plays, she’ll join her friend Draper in the United Cup, a mixed-gender team event in Australia that starts the season. Before that, she’ll start training hard this week with Roig in Barcelona to build on what she did in 2025, improve her shots, and get closer to the top players.
“I had some tough times on and off the court early in the year,” she said. “But it taught me how strong I am and what I need to do to avoid going back there. I need to spend time learning and taking care of my mind. Learning about myself has been great, so I feel good.”
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
