Emma Raducanu told reporters on Sunday that she planned to "pick the brains" of Serena Williams after the 44-year-old returned to professional tennis at Queen's Club this week and began a bid for a Wimbledon wildcard. "No I haven't spoken to her but I would obviously love to," Raducanu said.
Raducanu, who defeated Williams in Cincinnati four years ago, was emphatic in her praise. "She's the greatest female player of all time and it's amazing to have her around and part of the tour again," she said, adding that Williams' presence is "an amazing inspiration for all of us to see her around." The comeback matters immediately: Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion who last competed in 2022, paired this week with Victoria Mboko in a doubles match scheduled against Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe as part of her Wimbledon buildup.
Raducanu mixed admiration with personal candour. Recalling their Cincinnati meeting, she said, "I remember that match, it was when she was retiring at the end of the US swing," and admitted the moment unnerved her: "I was super nervous before playing her because it was just announced that she was stopping." She also expressed a desire to learn: "She has so much experience, so many lessons. It would be a really cool thing to do so I'll ask later." Raducanu and Williams share the same management agency, a detail that makes an off-court conversation between them easily arranged.
The exchange is set against a patchy season for Raducanu. Her appearance at the HSBC Championships followed a first-round loss to Solana Sierra at the French Open and a period away from competition she has described as instructive: "I took a long time away from competing [before the French Open], from Strasbourg and the French it did teach me a few things to take into the grass season. I have been doing what I can day to day and that is all I can ask of myself." At Queen's, Raducanu was due to play qualifier Anna Blinkova in her opening singles match.
The friction in Raducanu's comments is telling. She applauds a player who has defied age and expectation by returning at 44, yet when asked whether she could imagine herself extending her career into her forties she was frank and brief: "I personally don't." That aside, she made clear she sees value in reaching out to Williams — both for perspective and inspiration — rather than treating the comeback as merely a headline.
What remains unresolved is exactly why Williams is on court this week and what it will lead to: she is trying to earn a Wimbledon wildcard later this month, but there has been no confirmation whether she will receive one. Raducanu left the door open to a conversation that could arrive before that decision is made, saying twice that she would seek the chance to talk: "I haven't spoken to her but I would obviously love to" and, again, "She has so much experience, so many lessons. It would be a really cool thing to do so I'll ask later." The conversation — if it happens — could arrive before Wimbledon and may be as revealing about Williams' intentions as any match scoreline.
