Tennis star Emma Raducanu says she is ‘really fortunate’ that her career has crossed over with tennis legend, Serena Williams’.
Ahead of her debut at the Cincinnati Western & Southern Open, Emma Raducanu spoke at a press conference about having the opportunity to face Serena Williams following the latter’s retirement announcement.
“I think it’s gonna be an exciting match, I’m looking forward to it,” says Emma Raducanu. “It’s an amazing opportunity to play probably the best tennis player of all time. It’s probably going to be my last opportunity to ever play her.”
The praise for Serena Williams continues, “I think that, for our careers to have crossed over, I think I’m really fortunate that I get to play her. Whatever happens, I think it’s gonna be a really good experience for me and something that I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Why is Serena Williams retiring?
These comments follow the shock announcement that the tennis icon, Serena Williams, will be stepping away from tennis sometime soon.
In an interview with Vogue, she says, “I never wanted to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair.”
“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family,” she continues.
Ahead of the tennis match against Serena Williams, Emma Raducanu says she doesn’t have expectations. “I don’t really care. I just want to go out there and enjoy the match that I’m going to play whenever I do play it.”
“It’s a great gift to play the best on her way out from the sport. So, I’m just looking forward to that.”
However, this isn’t the first time that Emma Raducanu has showered deserving praise on the 23-time Grand Slam winner.
As reported by Tennis Majors, Emma Raducanu said that Serena Williams had “definitely changed the game. To dominate that much… there’s not really been someone who has dominated like her in the women’s game. So, I think she did change the game a lot in that respect.”
Serena Williams vs Emma Raducanu at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati will be broadcasted via Amazon Prime Video. They will face each other at 12pm UK time.
Feature image credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.