"I had this thing like, I'm not going to dance, I was too scared to do it but then I basically kicked like 95 people out of the room" - Emma Raducanu on how she motivated herself to dance alongside Dua Lipa
Emma Raducanu teamed up with fellow Brit and music sensation Dua Lipa for a commercial for Evian earlier this year, one that included the World No. 10 breaking out the dance moves. As it turns out, the segment, which turned viral on social media among tennis fans, almost didn't happen due to Raducanu's inhibition.
Speaking at her press conference after defeating Louisa Chirico 6-4, 6-2 in her opener at the 2022 Citi Open, the teenager revealed that she was firmly against dancing on camera, especially with more than 100 crew members watching.
A rad DC debut ✨
No.2 seed @EmmaRaducanu rolls past Chirico in straight sets!
#CitiOpen https://t.co/DTioI3Lr5g
Thankfully, saner heads prevailed, and after kicking out all but the essential personnel, the Brit got over her initial embarrassment and danced to her heart's content. Raducanu was glad that she chose to do it too, remarking that she needed it more at the time than she realized.
"It was funny, for my dancing segment, I think the crew was like a hundred people or something. I had this thing like, I'm not going to dance. I was too scared to do it," Raducanu said. "Then I basically kicked like 95 people out of the room, and they only kept the 5 that were there. I was like, You need this more than [anything]."
step out of their comfort zones and show their true selves in our latest campaign #eviandrinktrue. 
Ahead of the tennis season, evian ambassadors @DuaLipa 🦋 + @EmmaRaducanu 🎾 step out of their comfort zones and show their true selves in our latest campaign #eviandrinktrue.
A pure moment like this calls for natural #evian mineral water 💧 https://t.co/k5BCvpDpU1
The reigning US Open champion went on to lavish praise on Lipa, referring to her as a "really cool person" with a great sense of style and personality. Despite the shoot lasting a long time, Raducanu was chuffed that she got to spend it in the company of someone genuniely fun to be around.
"That's how they got the shot. Eventually I think they cut it to like two seconds, but it was a really fun shoot. Dua Lipa is a really cool person. She has great style, good character," Emma Raducanu said. "Yeah, it was a pretty long shoot day, but it went really fast with her."
"Dmitry definitely has a good sense of humor, and he's definitely trying to make me take things easier on myself" - Emma Raducanu on her new partnership with coach Tursunov
Emma Raducanu also commented on her budding relationship with coach Dmitry Tursunov, a partnership that is only one win old at the moment. The World No. 10 remarked that the Russian had a good sense of humor that ensured she was taking things easier on herself, adding that it also helped bring out her best on the tennis court.
"[Dmitry] definitely has a good sense of humor, and he's definitely trying to make me take things easier on myself," Emma Raducanu said. "I put a lot of emphasis on everything I do, and I want to do it the best of my abilities all the time."
Emma Raducanu and Anett Kontaveit have swapped coaches.
After Kontaveit picked up Raducanu's former coach Torben Beltz, Raducanu announces today that she's partnering up with Kontaveit's old coach Dmitry Tursunov.
dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/a…
While the Brit admitted that they were still working on ironing out the chinks in their relationship, she was of the opinion that it would certainly get better with time. For now, Raducanu is focused only on grinding out the wins as required and putting in the hard work day in and day out.
"You know, he's just slowly trying to shift me towards, If it's not perfect, it's okay. Like, If you shank one, it's okay. Just these sorts of things, and being more accepting of that," Emma Raducanu said. "Yeah, it definitely helped I think in today's match, because things weren't perfect. I wasn't playing amazing tennis, but I was accepting and I just, you know, fought through to the end."