‘We make a great living’: Emma Raducanu on why she won’t moan about the tennis calendar

Interview
‘We make a great living’: Emma Raducanu on why she won’t moan about the tennis calendar
Tumaini Carayol
British No 1 on home comforts of Bromley, joys of commuting and being ‘creeped out’ by paparazzi

Tumaini Carayol
Tue 2 Dec 2025 10.11 GMT
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Emma Raducanu has garnered many endorsement deals in her nascent career, but there is perhaps one elusive sponsorship that would be most pleasing to the British No 1 women’s tennis player: ambassador of the London borough of Bromley.

During a roundtable discussion with tennis journalists at the end of a gruelling yet satisfying season, Raducanu is merely attempting to describe a quiet off-season spent in her family home when she finds herself delivering a sales pitch about the benefits of living in Bromley. “I’m just so settled,” she says. “I’ve barely been in the UK this year because I’ve been competing so much, but I think just spending really good quality time with my parents has been so nice. I have loved just being in Bromley. It just reminds me of when I was a younger kid and it’s the same bedroom, same everything.

“Bromley has some amazing speciality coffee shops now that didn’t exist a few years ago. And I’ve been trying every new spot. It’s been really nice, and obviously so much greenery, and it’s been fun actually. I’ve been commuting on the train. So I’ve been part of rush hour every day, which has also been an experience. But it’s like my switch off. As soon as I get on the South Western to Waterloo, I’m just like: ‘My day is done now.’”

The inner peace and contentment that Raducanu speaks of has been hard‑earned at the end of a positive if unspectacular season when she took several steps forward. The 23‑year‑old rose from outside the top 60 to No 29 in 2025, her highest ranking since 2022. She played more frequently than ever this year with largely consistent results.

She has also taken steps to find stability within her team, a glaring issue since the start of her career. Raducanu appears to have found a fruitful coaching partnership with the Spaniard Francisco Roig, previously a longtime member of Rafael Nadal’s coaching team, and she will start the 2026 season with a new combined physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach in Emma Stewart, an experienced professional who has worked in tennis and was most recently part of British Rowing’s Olympic medal‑winning setup.