Emma Raducanu stressed the importance of leaning on her support network at Wimbledon as she prepares for her challenging second-round match against Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 champion.
Raducanu, who reached the second round on Monday with a solid 6-3, 6-3 win over the 17-year-old British wildcard Mimi Xu, reflected on the additional support she has received at the All England Club. “At Wimbledon, it’s particularly special. I had really good friends in the box there,” said Raducanu, before reeling off a list of names. “To have them all here in this one week, and the way the stars align that they could be here, it means so much when I see them there. It just makes me really happy.”
After her win, Raducanu said that it was emotional to catch up briefly with those close friends and the feeling of being supported contrasts sharply to her solitary existence the rest of the tennis season. “Big time,” said Raducanu. “After the match there, I just went outside to see them for five or 10 minutes and speak to them. And that’s just an opportunity that is so rare, and you don’t really get that at other tournaments, because I don’t really travel my friends out. They have lives. So I have a few friends in other cities, but to have my real core, best friends here, it means a lot.”
The 22-year-old is accompanied at Wimbledon by her coach, Mark Petchey, and the former player Jane O’Donoghue, who acts as an elder sister figure. With her fitness coach, Yutaka Nakamura, away for personal reasons, Raducanu is working with Ian Aylward, a strength and conditioning coach for the LTA, and the rest of the British governing body’s fitness personnel.
She will need all of their encouragement as she faces an extremely difficult task in round two against the in-form Vondrousova. Two years ago, the Czech produced one of the most surprising title runs in Wimbledon history. She was a French Open finalist in 2019 aged 19 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist, but Vondrousova’s career has been ravaged by serious injuries. After already missing significant periods in her career because of multiple wrist operations, she underwent surgery on her left shoulder in 2023 shortly after her Wimbledon title run.
Although she has struggled to compete regularly on the tour, she has shown her quality during her brief periods of good health. Nine days ago, Vondrousova won the Berlin Open WTA 500 event with supreme victories over Aryna Sabalenka – the world No 1 – and Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion. Vondrousova is an intelligent, crafty left-hander who outsmarts players with her vast variety of shots. The 26-year-old has won her last two matches against Raducanu, including in straight sets this year in Abu Dhabi, but the Briton beat her in the second round of Wimbledon in 2021 right at the beginning of her breakthrough run.
“I remember watching her when I was young making the final of the French,” said Raducanu. “She was so young there. Always seemed like way above me, way further ahead than me. Then she had wrist surgery and then came back and won Wimbledon, which is incredible. So she’s a really, really talented player. We played earlier on in the year in Abu Dhabi. I know she’s super tough. It’s very difficult to maintain that top level after winning a slam. But yes, she’s really playing in form.”
