"I didn’t see them. How did they take this photo?" - A perplexed Raducanu puts a halt to dating rumours as she refuses to criticise tennis schedule

Emma Raducanu has enjoyed a prolific year on court, and is now settling down back home. She gave an insight on life back in Bromley and gave a disappointing update on her relationship rumours.

After starting the year just inside the top 60, she made a rapid rise up the leaderboard to cement herself as a seed for the upcoming Australian Open, bolstering her chances of a deep run after regularly running into some of the best players in the world in 2025. She also made a maiden WTA 1000 quarter-final at the Miami Open along with a semi-final in the DC Open. Her progress was halted after a lacklustre Asian swing, but she finishes the year as the world number 29, her highest since 2021.

Raducanu's rise up the rankings has been largely down to her regularly competing around the world. After so many injury-ridden seasons, she has managed to consistently show up at events throughout 2025, barring the last part of the Asian swing. The cost to this is that she has not been able to spend time at home in Bromley, South London.

“I’m just so settled,” she said in an interview. “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 off season is a chance for the 23-year-old to not focus on tennis and put her mind to something else. In this case, she has been learning a number of new languages. After competing in a number of events in China - where her mother was born, she took the time in improving her Chinese language skills as she visited family. She also stated that she was attempting to improve her Spanish, urged by her coach Francisco Roig, and French. “I was just like: ‘I’m trying to do everything.' I really need rest days from my rest days. It’s actually quite consuming,” she said with a smile.

“It’s funny, because then I’ll just start mixing languages. I’m saying a sentence with three different languages, and I just don’t even know what I’m saying. But I think it’s been great for me to put my mind to something else and to be occupied and feed my brain. It’s the best thing I can do for myself. And I feel like I’m just in a pretty content place, just trying to become a better version off the court.”

Back in February, a disturbing incident took up the headlines. Raducanu had numerous encounters with a certain individual. This hugely affected her mentally and dented her confidence when going out. However, those concerns seem to be behind the Brit. “Now I don’t. My neck doesn’t hurt as much. I’m not looking down as much. Better posture,” she laughed, referencing a previous quote once stated. “But I’m like: ‘OK, what? Are they going to see me on the tube?’ It’s not a bad thing.”

Now in public, she is a lot happier and more comfortable. It has been shown with her posts on Instagram smiling with friends. One picture got the attention of many excited fans who believed, after a source was released, that she was with her partner when attending a rugby match at Twickenham. However, she has halted those rumours, bemused in how the picture was even taken.

“What did creep me out was I saw a photo of myself in London, and I didn’t see the paps [paparazzi]. I was with my two best friends. This happened last week, and it was some tabloid article saying I had a new boyfriend or whatever. But it’s literally my best friend’s brother. I was like: ‘Come on, guys. Come on. Be better. This is not [true].’ I was with my best friend’s brother, and we were going to the rugby. And of course, they cropped my best friend out. It was just me and this guy, and I just didn’t see the paps. So that’s obviously creepy. You know, when you’re like: ‘I didn’t see them. How did they take this photo?’ But other than that, I feel good because someone’s always watching my back.”

A number of the top singles players this year have come out and shared their concerns over the jam-packed schedule. Raducanu, on the other hand, is not one of them despite calling it a 'challenge.'

“I think that’s a challenge. I don’t necessarily think it’s something to complain about because it’s what we are given. And we are making a great living as well," she acknowledged. "I mean it’s not all glamorous. There are definitely times when it’s very difficult and we are flagging mentally, physically, everything hurts. But at the same time what are we going to do about it? I am sure there are certain people who go to work and their bosses make them do something, but they have to do it, it’s their job. If we put up a front that isn’t complaining, I think that is a better example to the people watching, trying to get into tennis, the younger people. If they see all the top players moaning about the calendar, I don’t think that’s necessarily inspiring to look up to.”