THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 29, 2022

Emma Raducanu

Press Conference

C. GARCIA/E. Raducanu

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Emma, tell us how you're feeling right now after the match.

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I mean, obviously it's tough to lose any match, but I think that Caroline played a great match. I mean, she is a great player. I struggled to find a way through her today.

But it's okay because coming into this I didn't really have many expectations of myself. Playing on Centre Court again was, again, a really positive experience for me.

So, yeah, I can take it going forwards.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How much was the wind a factor in this match today? Seemed very breezy.

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I mean, it definitely was windier today. You could feel it a lot from one end. So on one end I felt like I was struggling to get my length and any sort of ball speed. Then on the other, it just, like, pulls forwards. It's like you're reaching for every ball.

But, yeah, it's the same for both players, so it's not like I was the only one out there struggling with the wind.

Q. Harriet Dart was just in here earlier saying some of the British players in their early 20s get a bit of spotlight on them at Wimbledon, but they can make their way in the tennis world a bit steadier. You've had this incredible spotlight and pressure on you because of your great achievement last year. How much of a challenge is that?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think I've been asked this question in every press conference.

But I am 19 years old. Yes, I have had attention. But I'm a slam champion, so no one's going to take that away from me. Yeah, if anything, the pressure is on those who haven't done that.

Q. In your match against Caroline at Indian Wells, you often were the one dictating. Today it felt like Caroline was managing to dictate. What was the difference today?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think it was first-strike tennis. She served really well today. I didn't really have any looks, I felt, many second serves. Even when I did, they were tricky ones with the wind holding them up.

I think that serving-wise, like, my ball speed was just lower in general. I don't know. Maybe it was the conditions. But, yeah, I just didn't have enough ball speed today.

Q. Is there still some physical aftereffects of that side strain that might have played a role in that?

EMMA RADUCANU: I didn't feel anything out there. I declared myself fully fit when I walked out onto the court on the first day. But I've played seven hours of tennis in a month. To even compete with these girls at this level and win a round I think is a pretty good achievement.

Q. You're obviously learning all the time. Like the last six weeks, the French, coming through to here, what kind of lessons have you learned and what are your priorities going to be going forward in terms of improving yourself, everything around you?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think that since the French Open, the biggest thing has been my time on court has been extremely minimal. I mean, I really did not train very much. That's due to different sort of niggles and things that have been lingering around. That's obviously something I'm going to be focusing on, like, still physical, getting my body ready, yeah, just play tennis basically.

Q. Next time you step onto a Grand Slam court, it's going to be as defending champion. How much has this week and the grass court buildup with all the home pressure helped you for that moment?

EMMA RADUCANU: There's no pressure. Like, why is there any pressure? I'm still 19. Like, it's a joke. I literally won a slam.

Going back to New York, it's going to be cool because I have got a lot of experiences playing on big courts, playing with people in the stadium, playing with the spotlight on you.

I don't mind that. I mean, for me, everything is learning. I'm embracing every single moment that is thrown at me.

Q. Do you take a break now? How much are you going to look to play building up to play US Open? It did seem a key factor last year that you played an awful lot of matches going into New York.

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, that's true. I haven't thought about my schedule, to be honest. I just came off. But that's something I'll talk to my team about.

Q. You mentioned the other day players are kind of playing you for a second time, learning your game. How do you counter that? Will that make you a better player, them kind of understanding your weaknesses and you kind of having to respond?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, of course it will make me a better player because they're just highlighting all my weaknesses. Then when you do it on a big court like that, it's definitely magnified. It's just great for me to get all these lessons at such a young age so that when I'm in my mid 20s, I'll have those issues or little glitches in my game sorted.

Q. I noticed in warmup that you didn't go to the net. I might have missed it. I thought you didn't go up and hit any volleys or overheads. Is there a specific reason?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think that it depends really. I kind of don't really care what I do in my warmup.

I think that I wasn't really planning to S and V much today so I didn't really put much emphasis on that.

Yeah, the first few balls, it was really windy and I just wanted to get a bit more of a feel from the back.

Q. I saw your next tournament after this is Washington. What are you looking forward to about being back on hard courts?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I want to start my preparations on the hard courts. I think that Washington would be a great place to do that.

Last year I played a lot of matches leading up. Yeah, I just wanted to give myself a chance really.

Q. People know who you are now. How are you going to deal with that going forward?

EMMA RADUCANU: I'll just get better. I'll just look at what's not working, what my weaknesses are, improve them. It's good for me.

These lessons are coming every single week. It's just a reminder you got to do this, this, and that. It comes from different players so it just highlights it.

Yeah, for me it's just something to improve on.

Q. We've had some British success apart from yourself today. Have you got a message for the players who are still in the competition with regards to how you got on last September, that perhaps anything is possible for them?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think that the Brits have been doing extremely well, especially in the last few weeks on the grass. They've kind of carried that through Wimbledon. Everyone has been doing really well and inspiring each other.

I think that's a great thing for British tennis in general. Yeah, I wish them all the luck for this tournament, and will definitely be supporting them.