"Hilarious" - Serena Williams' former coach recalls Emma Raducanu's playful banter with Dua Lipa on tennis grunting
Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs recently took to Twitter to recall a hilarious commercial starring Emma Raducanu and Dua Lipa.
Raducanu can be seen giving Dua Lipa tennis lessons, including how to hit a forehand, while the latter teaches the former how to become a better dancer in a 2022 commercial for Evian.
The tennis star, who is also the face of Evian, took the time to teach the Albanian singer in the hilarious ad as part of the brand's Drink True campaign, which marked the start of the 2022 grass-court season.
The duo appeared to be having fun as they swapped skills with a blooper showing them laughing and running around the tennis court. At one point, Emma Raducanu joked about grunting in tennis, saying it's "optional" when Dua Lipa asked her when to make the noise.
Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams' former coach, was amused by this particular moment and took to Twitter a year later to recall it. It was Stubbs' favorite comment in the entire video.
"Hilarious, my favorite comment was when do we grunt "optional"!" the veteran coach wrote.
“optional”! Hilarious, my favorite comment was when do we grunt 😂 “optional”! 😂 twitter.com/bastienfachan/…
"The tour is completely brutal" - Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu underwent a minor ankle procedure and a minor surgery to remove bone spurs on her wrists to resolve the recurring issues that have plagued her since her extraordinary Grand Slam title triumph at the 2021 US Open.
She will be back in action during the off-season in December 2023 after signing up for a new exhibition event in Macau, China. The invitational mixed-gender tournament will be held at the East Asian Games Dome, and several other top players have already confirmed their participation.
The Brit recently spoke with The Sunday Times about her injury, stating that the pain in her wrists worsened during last year's Wimbledon. The pain extended beyond her physical health, impacting her mental well-being as well.
"The pain [in the wrists] escalated last summer after Wimbledon. I started with a new coach and I was really motivated to get going. We were over training, a lot of repetition, and I carried on even through pain because I didn’t want to be perceived as weak," Emma Raducanu said.
"I was struggling with the physical pain but the mental side of it was really difficult for me too. I always want to put forward the best version of myself, or strive for that, but I knew I couldn’t," she added.
Emma Raducanu added that the emotions were too much at times and that she had to put up a front to keep going before saying that the WTA Tour is brutal when it comes to making mistakes.
"I am very young and still learning and making mistakes. It is a lot harder when you are making mistakes in front of everyone and everyone has something to say about it. The tour is completely brutal," she said.