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.
"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.”
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.”
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.”