Emma Raducanu says she wants to “stay here as long as possible” after she became the youngest British woman to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon since 1959.
The 18-year-old wildcard, who gets her A-level results next month, beat the Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 7-5 and faces Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.
“The way that I’m approaching my matches is each time I’m thinking to myself, why not?” she said. “Today I was like, someone has to be in the second week, why not me? I’m just trying to stay here as long as possible. I’m just having such a blast.”
Few people expected Raducanu, the world No 338, to go far in the tournament, not least since she had never played a WTA Tour level match before arriving at Wimbledon.
Men's singles
(1) Novak Djokovic v Christian Garin (17)
Marton Fucsovics v Andrey Rublev (5)
(25) Karen Khachanov v Sebastian Korda
(10) Denis Shapovalov v Roberto Bautista Agut (8)
(7) Matteo Berrettini v Ilya Ivashka
(16) Felix Auger-Aliassime v Alexander Zverev (4)
(8) Roger Federer v Lorenzo Sonego (23)
(14) Hubert Hurkacz v Daniil Medvedev (2)
Women's singles
(1) Ashleigh Barty v Barbora Krejcikova (14)
Emma Raducanu v Ajla Tomljanovic
(30) Paula Badosa v Katerina Muchova (19)
(20) Coco Gauff v Angelique Kerber (25)
(8) Karolina Pliskova v Liudmila Samsonova
(23) Madison Keys v Viktorija Golubic
(7) Iga Swiatek v Ons Jabeur (21)
(18) Elena Rybakina v Aryna Sabalenka (2)
Raducanu joked that her parents had not expected her to go far either. “It is funny because at the start when I was packing to come into the bubble, my parents were like: ‘Aren’t you packing too many sets of match kit?’” she said. “I am going to have to do some laundry tonight, but they have a laundry service at the hotel so I am all good.”
The teenager is guaranteed at least £181,000 for reaching round four and has already thought of how she might spend some of it. “The first thing I would do is take my team out and treat them for a meal,” she said. “They have supported me so much throughout the years. It’s not always been easy. They definitely deserve a nice meal out. We would have a great evening.”
Raducanu hopes her fourth‑round match with Tomljanovic will receive top billing. “It would mean a lot to me to play on Centre Court,” she said. “That’s what everyone dreams of, especially being a Brit. I would be so grateful for that opportunity.
“I would love to go out there and try to embrace the crowd like I did today. We’ll see what happens. I’m really, really up for it, whatever happens, though.”
