"We both have gone through our own journey": Emma Raducanu praises Jack Draper's recent performances but reiterates desire to follow her own path

Britain’s Emma Raducanu has stated that she is not looking to replicate what her fellow countryman Jack Draper has achieved recently. The 23-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing men’s tennis.

Draper, after some incredible performances in the recent past, including the recently concluded Madrid Open, where he finished as the runner-up after losing to Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, has now risen to fifth in the ATP rankings, just behind the likes of Italy’s Jannik Sinner, Germany’s Alexander Zverev, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, and America’s Taylor Fritz.

On the other hand, Raducanu, who was once regarded as the next big thing after winning the US Open at the age of just 18 back in 2021, is going through another difficult phase which saw her overtaken in the WTA rankings by the former world number one Naomi Osaka after winning the WTA 125 event in Saint Malo. The 22-year-old has recently spoken to Sky Sports, where she praised her fellow countryman Draper for his incredible rise in the recent past. However, the former world number 10 also reiterated that her focus is not to try to do what Draper did. Instead, she is looking to do what she believes is the right way to do.

"It's amazing to see what he has achieved and how much he has done," said Raducanu. "He is a great tennis player and he is of such a big stature that he can take the game out of anyone's hands. For him to kind of dominate like he has been is really cool to see. We are two very separate, different people, though. We both have gone through our own journey. Mine is very different as well from his. I didn’t necessarily go through everything super organically and the natural way of doing things. I think now I am just working on coming back and working on the things I can do, day to day. But yeah, credit to him, he has done a great job."