What Emma Raducanu achieved is unbelievable, she can easily make the top 10 and sooner than everyone thinks: Simona Halep
Emma Raducanu missed out on playing her childhood idol Simona Halep at the recently-concluded Transylvania Open. The duo were projected to meet in the semifinals of the WTA 250 event, but with Raducanu losing in the quarterfinals, the highly-anticipated encounter never came to fruition.
Halep, however, heaped praise on Raducanu following her own win over the Brit's conqueror in Cluj-Napoca, Marta Kostyuk. The Romanian called Raducanu's recent success "unbelievable", before adding that she has been producing great tennis.
Halep also commended the youngster's "strong" mentality and movement on the court.
"What she achieved is unbelievable," Halep said. "And it's all credit to her because she played so well and she played so many matches."
"I think her mentality was very strong and also her game," she continued. "She showed great tennis, very fast, very close to the baseline and I think her movement was also great."
Simona Halep also predicted a bright future for Emma Raducanu, pointing out that winning a Grand Slam at such a young age has already given the youngster plenty of experience. The 31-year-old added that Raducanu will crack the top 10 in the world rankings "sooner than everyone else thinks".
"She's already achieved the Grand Slam title so she's able to achieve everything," Halep said. "She now has the experience of winning the biggest tournament in tennis."
"So I think she can easily make the top 10 and I think sooner than everyone else thinks because she's already close to that," she added. "She has a bright future and for sure she will be one of the best players in the world."
Emma Raducanu and Simona Halep lead packed lineup at the 2021 Linz Open
Emma Raducanu will next play at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Open, scheduled to be held between 6 to 12 November in the Austrian city.
Raducanu confirmed her participation at the WTA 250 tournament last month. The tournament's official Twitter handle had also uploaded a video of the Brit's confirmation at the time.
The short eight-second clip sees Raducanu expressing her excitement at being part of the tournament.
Is @EmmaRaducanu π¬π§ really coming to Linz? YES, SHE ISβΌοΈ The @usopen champ has sent us this message! π₯°
Make sure to get your tickets to see Emma play at the 2021 πΌππππ π¨ππππππ π³ππ πππ π³πππ! π¦πΉ
π«πβ‘οΈ bit.ly/3B7wG02
@WTA | #wtalinz #emmaraducanu https://t.co/2Gd6Z3ZPo4
Emma Raducanu will be the top seed at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Open. The 18-year-old will have yet another opportunity to play against Simona Halep, who is also part of the competitive-looking field.
Other big names in the draw include Danielle Collins, Sorana Cirstea and Veronika Kudermetova.