Emma Raducanu Explains Why Victories Now 'Mean So Much More' To Her
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Emma Raducanu managed a terrific upset victory at the 2025 Miami Open, and spoke afterward about how much it meant to her.
The Briton started as a heavy underdog against Emma Navarro, who has consistently played superb tennis to reach the Top 10 in the WTA rankings. Overcoming her seemed like a tough ask on paper.
Raducanu silenced her doubters by winning a thrilling battle against the home favorite. She recovered from losing three consecutive games at 5-3 up in the deciding set by breaking Navarro at 5-6 before securing a memorable 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 triumph.
The 22-year-old is usually pretty calm on the court, but she could not contain her emotions after beating Navarro. It was a moment that meant a lot to her after a challenging few years since bursting onto the scene by winning the 2021 US Open.
Speaking to the WTA after the victory, Raducanu said that the difficult times she has had since winning the US Open as an 18-year-old meant moments like the one against Navarro mean more.
"Yeah, it was a lot of emotions when I won. I know I won the US Open, but I think having been through so much in the last few years, it’s like the wins now mean so much more."
While Raducanu knows that overcoming Navarro will not make the same headlines worldwide as her 2021 US Open run, she enjoys wins more now because of her new perspective from the years since securing a Grand Slam title.
"I would say not necessarily more in terms of [the US Open] magnitude, but I would say emotionally, just a lot more aware of all of the suffering as well. Because, you know, when I won the US Open, I just won 10 matches in straight sets. I mean, I didn’t have, like, the losses, the downs, the months of, like, losing streaks. I think to come out of it now, it does, yeah."
Navarro is among the fittest players in tennis and possesses one of the best deciding set records on the WTA Tour. Raducanu is rightly proud of how she found the energy and battling qualities to beat her in a long match.
"I think I knew that going in. So I knew that I was going to have to win every single point. It was very difficult, because I was serving for it at 5-3, and then Emma played amazing tennis, as well. Then again, I was Love-30 on her serve at 5-4, and she pretty much played like four unbelievable points."
"Today I completely left everything on the court. I think there were moments in the third set I thought I was completely down, completely out. I didn’t see a way back from it, to be honest, physically. But then I managed to, I don't know where, find a source of energy from, and I think I was running on adrenaline."
Prevailing in such a lengthy match against a top player also vindicates her decision to hire Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova's former fitness coach, Yutaka Nakamura, during the off-season. She is currently playing without a technical coach.
