Emma Raducanu declared she has “rekindled a fire inside me” by playing in front of home crowds again as she beamed her way through her pre-tournament interviews at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne.
Having reached the semi-finals in Nottingham 10 days’ ago, Raducanu is due to play the former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in Tuesday’s first-round match. And if good vibes could be converted into forehand winners, we would be looking at a straight-sets beatdown.
“I’m just really into it at the moment,” said Raducanu. “I love the sport. I love tennis. I’ve really rekindled a light and a fire inside of me. Just very happy and enjoying it a lot.
“I would say right before Nottingham it happened,” she added. “I’m just really grateful to have this feeling again because it’s something that I’ve been missing for the last few years. I haven’t felt this good about my tennis and just excited and passionate for a long, long time.”
It’s easy to forget how few matches Raducanu has played on home soil: just 11 at tour level. Until this season, the only time she gained any momentum on the grass was in 2021, her very first summer as a professional.
Only a few weeks after completing her A-Levels, Raducanu arrived at Wimbledon as a complete unknown, and promptly routed Marketa Vondrousova – now the defending champion – in straight sets in the second round.
As we know, Raducanu went on to win the US Open a couple of months later, triggering an unprecedented avalanche of hype. Only recently, after a couple of fallow seasons, has the clamour around her begun to quieten.