“I was super nervous”: Emma Raducanu recalls facing Serena Williams in Cincinnati clash

Emma Raducanu is ready for her return to the courts at the Queen’s Club Championships, where she will debut this Tuesday against Russian Anna Blinkova in the first round. The British player spoke about her return to the grass swing, her doubles partnership with Katie Boulter, and, of course, the highly anticipated comeback of Serena Williams at Queen’s.

The former US Open champion returns to the grass swing in search of regaining good feelings after several months away from the courts due to injury, and with a clear intention to show improvement quickly.

“I think a lot starts from the beginning of the point with serving and returning, and I think that’s highlighted on grass courts,” she said. “So working on the actual quality of those two shots would probably be where I’d start.”

Although Raducanu was seen back in action in the late stages of the clay swing, she only played two matches, being eliminated in the first round of Strasbourg and Roland Garros. This time, the Brit hopes to show herself in good physical form and begin to collect victories—what better place than on grass courts and at home in Queen’s Club.

The former world No. 10 will be one of the main stars at Queen’s, although not the only one. It will be a week marked by the return to the courts of Serena Williams, who announced an unexpected partnership with Victoria Mboko to mark her return to the tour four years after her retirement at the 2022 US Open.

Precisely in the weeks before Serena Williams’ retirement, one of her last official matches was against none other than Raducanu in Cincinnati Open, while she was preparing for what was supposed to be her final professional event.

“Yeah, I remember that match. It was when she was retiring at the end of the US swing. I was super nervous before playing her because it had just been announced that she was stopping,” Emma Raducanu said in press conference. “It’s really great to see her back. I think it’s an amazing inspiration, and for all of us to see her around is a really cool thing.”

“She’s the greatest female tennis player of all time, and it’s just amazing to have her around and part of the tour again,” Raducanu added, before mentioning that she has not yet had a conversation with her about her return. “I haven’t spoken to her, but I would obviously love to. She has so much experience and so many lessons—it would be a really cool thing to do.”

On the other hand, the former Grand Slam champion reflected on her brief run at the French Open, where she was only able to play her first-round match, surprisingly being eliminated by Argentine clay specialist Solana Sierra.

In that match, Raducanu struggled to find her rhythm and was bagelled by the Argentine, who later prevailed in the second-set tiebreak to seal the victory [6-0, 7-6(4)].

“It was a tough match for me,” Raducanu admitted. “Afterwards, I found the next day pretty tough. I knew the best thing for me was to try to get back on court straight away just to nip it in the bud, so I got practicing pretty soon after.”

“I took a long time away from competing, so from Strasbourg and the French Open it did teach me a few things I could hopefully take into the grass season. I haven’t had so many matches leading into it, but I’ve been doing what I can day in, day out. That’s all I can really ask of myself—just keep going.”

Raducanu will not only compete in the singles draw against Blinkova starting Tuesday, but will also have a special doubles participation alongside compatriot Katie Boulter—whom she already partnered with at the same tournament a year ago, and who once again forms a 100% local duo for the delight of British fans.

“It’s really nice to play with Katie. We try to make Queen’s the tournament we play together. I don’t play doubles very often, but last year was really fun,” she said. “We had the home crowd, a full court watching us and supporting us. It’s good fun, so I’m really excited to hopefully do it again this year and have the opportunity to play with her on home court.”