Emma Raducanu's holiday plans while she awaits her comeback: "It’s like a hot Christmas”

2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu will spend the holidays outside the UK, joining her best friend in New Zealand for Christmas. She’s avoiding long travel distances just days before her debut in Auckland, where she is seeded sixth.

The 22-year-old tennis star admitted she’ll miss London’s chilly weather during what will be her second Christmas in Oceania. Raducanu ended her season at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Málaga, where the British team reached the semifinals. The world No. 57 then returned to London, where she spent several weeks training.

Raducanu eyes a sunny festive season

Initially, Raducanu planned to train in Brisbane for about 10 days before the season opener but has now confirmed she will head straight to Auckland this Friday, as reported by Express. “I’ll be in Auckland on Christmas Day. My best friend Izzy lives in Auckland. So actually, last year I did the same,” she shared.

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"The last two years I’ve been with her and her family, and we go up north an hour to her little beach hut. It’s different. It’s like a hot Christmas with a barbecue on the beach,” the former world No. 10 explained. “It’s just different for someone who grew up in London. December in London is my favourite time of year. But I guess I’m just going to make peace with it for the next 10 or 15 years, and then I’ll come back and have a cold Christmas.”

Raducanu also shared how this pre-season has been unique: “I had a bit of a different pre-season this year because I was injured earlier, and I did a lot of training. So, I just want to get out in the heat a bit earlier. And it makes sense to go all the way rather than go somewhere, then come back, and fly out again.”

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She elaborated on her plans and mentioned that she will meet with one of her close friends from the Tour: world No. 167 Priscilla Hon. “I’m going to go to Brisbane for a week first because there’s a lot of players over there. Brisbane is one of the national centres. I am actually good friends with Priscilla Hon, so we’re going to hit, hang out there, get in the heat.”

Raducanu aims to avoid getting “stale” before her first tournament: “I didn’t want to go straight to Auckland because if you get to a tournament too early, you kind of get a bit stale before the match. So, I wanted to go there when it’s tournament time.”

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Looking ahead, Raducanu is excited about her Australian Open campaign. Although she’s only confirmed for the ASB Classic in New Zealand, she’s eyeing additional tournaments: “I’m going to play Auckland, and I actually want to play in Adelaide. But that depends on how I do in Auckland, the cut-offs, and any unpredictable situations that may arise. But the plan is to hopefully play Auckland, Adelaide, and then Melbourne, of course. I feel like I’m in a pretty good place to just get on court as much as I can.”