Emma Raducanu reveals Royal Box plan as Brit gears up for Centre Court return

Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu has admitted she will be star spotting in the Royal Box when she returns to Centre Court to face an in-form former champion. The British No.1 beat Welsh wildcard Mimi Xu on Court 1 in the first round. But the 2022 US Open champion will return to the main stage against the 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova today. Sir David Beckham was on Centre Court on Monday and Hollywood names Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett were there yesterday. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT And Raducanu will be checking to see who is watching her today when she bids to reach the third round - and set up a potential clash with world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.

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“I think Centre and No 1 in a way are visually quite similar, except the Royal Box at the back,” she said. “But it's just the prestige of Centre Court. It’s something that you grow up watching. Do I glance up to the Royal Box during matches to see who’s there? “Occasionally, I think so I'm very aware of who's watching. But I saw David Beckham was there watching Carlos. So that was pretty cool. But last year, I think David Attenborough was there, which was also pretty amazing. I saw a frog on the practice court yesterday, and Mark picked it up in his hands, and we were joking that he was like David!” Raducanu will also be watched by her entourage which includes her “great friend” Jane O’Donaghue, Ben Heynold and LTA fitness coach Ian Aylward. Her former coach Nick Cavaday who had to step aside due to illness in January, is not involved with Mark Petchey now in charge. “He (Nick) helped me in the week before Queen’s, because Mark was in Paris, and carried that work on through Queen's, but then I had already agreed to do the full grass season with Mark,” she explained.

Emma Raducanu

After the Xu win, Raducanu gave Petchey “11 out of 10” for his work and revealed a March hike in the Hollywood Hills together had helped them bond. “He's been everything the last few months for me,” she said. “I've really enjoyed being around him. He's helped me so much on all fronts, tennis, off court. “There was one hike we did in L.A. We walked for, like, two and a half hours. We spoke. It was one of those really deep conversations where I was like: ‘Okay, certain things I need to do better’. It was just one that I could take away and really reflect on." Raducanu beat Vondrousova at the then Bromley teenager’s first Wimbledon in 2021 before they both became Grand Slam champions - and then both lost in the first rounds in their title defences. The injury-dogged Czech needed shoulder surgery last year but returned to form and fitness by winning the Berlin Open last month after beating Sabalenka and Madison Keyes. “Amazing grass court player, in general,” said Raducanu. “I think it's going to be a really difficult match. I'm going to need to play very well to get over the line.”

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Like the British No.1, Vondrousova had early fame when she reached the 2019 French Open final as a 19-year-old. But the heavily tattooed world No.73 said: “I feel like she had it way worse because she is from a bigger country. She had crazy pressure. I feel like she has it in every tournament all the time. ‘Now I feel like she's getting better and better with it, but overall it must have been crazy for her to live all of that. Like when you win a Grand Slam from quallies, it must have been a crazy thing.”

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