Emma Raducanu Explains Why She Cried After Her First-Round Win In Eastbourne
NewsWednesday, 25 June 2025 at 13:11
Emma Raducanu couldn't hold her tears back after winning her first match at this year's Eastbourne Open.
Raducanu last competed at the Queen's Club Championships in London, where she lost in the quarter-finals to the top-seeded Qinwen Zheng. After that, the Brit withdrew from the Berlin Open after an injury stopped her progress.
The 2021 US Open champion managed to return to the tennis courts at the WTA 250 tournament in Eastbourne, where she is the seventh seed. The home crowd favorite played against Ann Li in her first match.
Raducanu was troubled by her opponent early on, losing the opening set of the match, but as it went on, the former WTA World No. 10 player showed that she was the better player on the court, ultimately winning 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1.
After the last rally was played, Raducanu dropped her racket and broke down in tears. She was very emotional after the win, and most of the fans thought it was related to her comeback. But it was not.
Naturally, the British No. 1 player was asked about that moment during her post-match press conference, and she revealed that her emotional episode didn't have anything to do with the match itself.
Raducanu stated that it was something from her personal life, and since it clearly made her emotional, the 22-year-old didn't want to share what the reason was behind her tears.
"I received some pretty bad news, so I would like to keep it personal, if that's OK? But it was difficult, very emotional at the end, and probably just a release of different emotions."
But apart from the emotional moment in her personal life, Raducanu had a reason to have the good kind of emotions after her match. She fought hard and won in three sets, which she was proud of afterward.
"I feel incredible. I just want to thank the crowd for getting me through some really sticky moments. It really meant a lot to me and I'm really proud of how I fought back after losing the first set."
"It was a tough match. Ann was hitting winners from all over the place and it was obviously very windy, but I'm just very happy to come through that, so thank you."
"It was up and down, but from the middle of the second set I found an extra gear, I found an extra level, and I'm really proud of how I came through that."
Raducanu will now want to follow up on her win in the second round of the tournament. Her opponent will be 19-year-old Maya Joint, and if she beats the teenager, Raducanu will take on the winner of the match between Anna Blinkova and Lulu Sun, who eliminated the top-seeded Daria Kasatkina.
The Brit would certainly be motivated to compete against Sun, as she was the player who stopped Raducanu from reaching her maiden Wimbledon quarter-final last year.
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