MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN

July 22, 2025

Emma Raducanu

Press Conference

E. RADUCANU/M. Kostyuk

7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Emma, why don't you get started. Congrats on the win. What are some of your takeaways after a really strong performance?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I'm very pleased to have gone through that. Difficult first round. I lost to Marta earlier on in the year in Madrid. So to have come through that, yeah, I'm really happy.

Also, adjusting to the conditions here in America, it's very lively. The balls fly a lot, so it's very different to the grass. I think to have come through that and worked my way through some really difficult moments in that match, I have to give myself credit for.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congrats on the win. I was wondering, what in your eyes is the biggest transition going from the grass season now to the North American hard-court swing?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I think on the grass for me it's a lot more comfortable, because it sits at a nicer height, whereas here it gets up a lot higher.

I think that's one big difference. Also, I think through the air, these balls are a lot lighter, and they go quite fast. So it's important to start the point well. It's very difficult to kind of turn points around as it is on the grass where you know you can kind of chip it back and it stays low and it's uncomfortable. It's not so much here.

I'd say those are the main things. And also, I think on the body it's a little more difficult, because yeah, you have some longer rallies, but the same time, the hard is just a bit more taxing on the body, I'd say.

Q. Do you know who you're playing next?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah.

Q. I asked her this, as well. Just wanted to know from you, this is a really big matchup for a lot of people, a lot of fans, super excited. There is an entertainment value I think to tennis and matches specifically like this. How do you see a match against Naomi Osaka, big stage? Are you excited for the prospects? Do you get into the hype of it all, or are you more focused inwards? How do you approach it?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I'm looking forward to the match. I think it's a great match for a lot of spectators, which is great to be a part of. I felt the same way when I played Aryna at Wimbledon. That atmosphere was unbeatable for me. Playing at Wimbledon, especially.

I seem to really thrive and enjoy that moment. I'm looking forward to again playing Naomi, and I think all the exposure I get to these top opponents, she's won four Grand Slams, so an incredible achievement and incredible career so far, and she's been playing really good tennis this year.

Yeah, it will be a great test of my own game and myself.

Q. What sort of similarities or differences do you see with your journey and Naomi's? You both obviously won US Open and shot to this big level of stardom and attention and sponsors and different sorts of things. Have you thought about similarities or differences between your journey and hers?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I think, you know, different because, again, when I won my US Open, I came from school, I was no one, I was 200 in the world, and Naomi had already won Indian Wells. She was already a known figure on the tour, and people kind of expected, okay, like, she's going to start doing well and start winning slams.

Whereas I think when I won, it was completely out of nowhere. It means that I didn't quite build the foundations she had when she won her Grand Slams, which I think is why she was able to repeat and win another three, you know, back-to-back US Open and Australia.

She, yeah, I think she was an established, like, pro tour player, whereas I didn't necessarily feel that way. It's probably why I had a lot more dips afterwards.

But yeah, it's good to see the similarities now. I think we have both kind of started doing better and started enjoying the process more and enjoying developing. Yeah, I think it's nice that after, you know, having such big highs and then some lows to both be working towards, you know, going up again.

Q. Have you ever talked to her?

EMMA RADUCANU: (Shaking head.)

Q. Seems like you have a lot in common with a lot of other players in this world of tennis but not always a chance to sort of get to know them. Is that something you'd like to do more or is it not something the job allows for really?

EMMA RADUCANU: I don't know. I think when we're on the tour, it's very difficult to really open up with other players that you're competing against. I think for me I have a few friends on the tour, but it does add another dimension when you play them.

I have really good friends at home that I can trust and speak to, but other than that, you know, I don't think that, yeah, this is -- for me, I just find it harder to compete against a person I'm friends with.

Q. You seem to really enjoy the cities that you're playing in. Is this part of your process? You'll post pictures of museums and things like that. Do you need to sort of do that, build a home almost wherever you're playing tennis?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, most definitely. I think especially D.C., it's a city that I really enjoy coming back to and one on the calendar that I'm really excited for.

I love this city in particular. I think there's so much greenery. There are so many nice museums. But it's important to, as you say, build a home in these cities, because we're on the road for six, seven weeks at a time, and if you just stick to your hotel room, it can get very difficult and tiresome, so you need to create these pockets of normality and also enjoying these cities.

Because people come to D.C., for example, on a holiday, and they go and like visit the museums and I'm in the city doing what I love and I have spare time. So when I do, I try and go and do the same things, and it makes me a lot more relaxed, makes me happier, and I found that I perform better as well when I'm having a better balance of switching on and also switching off.

Q. Have you been to museums on this trip yet?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah. I went to Glenstone. It was incredible, amazing collection. I loved the sculptures and also the element of nature. It was great.

Q. You said something earlier about not having time to build the foundation before you won the US Open. Do you feel that foundation has been completed, now that you have been on tour a few years, or it's still under construction, to get a stable base to be on this tour?

EMMA RADUCANU: I don't think it's been built. I still think I'm building it, but I feel positive because I'm actually building it in a consistent way. And I feel like, okay, the way I'm going, like, it's going towards having -- you're never really fully complete but a more complete foundation, and I'll be more solid and have a higher base level, so I think I'm working towards that now.

I think I'm just doing it in a better way. I'm a lot more content, more relaxed. I'm less kind of volatile, I guess, in general. I'm working in a really good way and just excited to kind of keep this and try and win as many days as I can.