Emma Raducanu prioritises UK off-season as Brit calls out boyfriend suggestions

Emma Raducanu has spent her off-season sleeping in her childhood bedroom and learning two new languages.

While her tennis rivals are jetting off to the Maldives for a bit of off-season sunshine, British No. 1 Emma Raducanu has been enjoying the comforts of home in Bromley.

The 23-year-old US Open champion has snubbed tropical islands for her childhood bedroom, where she’s been learning Spanish and French, and setting herself homework. “I need rest days from my rest days,” she laughed.

Raducanu, who achieved an A* and A in her A-Levels, has already been practising her new languages with her Spanish coach, Francisco Roig, and French chiropractor Jerome Poupel.

“I think it helps me big time. It just gives me something to occupy my brain with, because I would say I may be prone to overthinking, and my brain will just keep going if I don’t give it something to think about,” Raducanu admitted.

“So having these subjects that I’m studying, it does remind me of when I was younger, and I was juggling two things. I’m putting deadlines on myself to achieve certain things, and having homework to do. It’s like all very nostalgic, but in a good way.”

The world No. 29 has been indulging in a lot of nostalgia this off-season, immersing herself in life at home in Bromley before jetting to Barcelona for a pre-season training block with Roig.

“I was obviously toying with the idea when I finished, like, ‘Am I going to go somewhere? Am I going to have a holiday?’ I did want to have a holiday, but then I came back home, and I was like, I’m not leaving. Like, I’m just so settled,” she shared.

“I’ve barely been in the UK this year because I’ve been competing so much, but I think just spending really good quality time with my parents has been so nice. I have loved just being in Bromley. It just reminds me of when I was a younger kid, and it’s the same bedroom, same everything. Bromley has some amazing speciality coffee shops now, like a few years ago, that didn’t exist. But now it is the place for coffee.

“And I’ve been trying to try every new spot. It’s been really nice, and obviously so much greenery, and it’s been fun, actually. I’ve been commuting on the train. So I’ve been part of rush hour every day, which has also been an experience. But it’s like my switch off.”

People “sometimes” recognise Raducanu – but she’s embracing it. She added: “I’m like, okay, what are they going to see me on the tube? It’s not a bad thing. You know, people take the tube, it’s fine. I’m kind of just owning that more. It’s like, if people recognise me, if people see me, and they want to come up to me, then that’s great, but I don’t necessarily feel like I’m hiding from anything anymore.”

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It’s a positive development for Raducanu, who has “gotten over” a concerning incident at the Dubai Championships in February, during which a ‘fixated spectator’ was ejected from one of her matches.

However, the world No. 29 has been enjoying herself so much with her friends that it sparked confusion about a rumoured new boyfriend, who turned out to be her friend’s brother.

“What did creep me out was I saw a photo of myself in London, and I didn’t see the paps. I was with my two best friends. It was like some tabloid article saying, like I had a new boyfriend or whatever. But it’s literally my best friend’s brother. I was like, come on guys,” she explained.

“I was with my best friend’s brother, and we were going to the rugby. And of course, they cropped my best friend out. It was just me and this guy, and I just didn’t see the paps. So that’s obviously creepy. You know, when you when you’re like, ‘I didn’t see them. How did they kind of take this photo?’ But other than that, I feel good because someone’s always watching my back.”

Raducanu will now focus her efforts on the 2026 season, spending the month in Barcelona with Roig, and is feeling good heading into the New Year.

After launching her career with an extraordinary Grand Slam triumph as a teenage qualifier, Raducanu now feels she’s found her place. “I think I’ve learned a lot about myself this year. I think the start of the year was not very smooth. I think I went through some very difficult times on and off the court at the start of the year. But I think it really taught me the strength that I have to pull myself out of it. Also what I need to do to avoid falling back in again,” she smiled.

“A lot of it is spending time studying, spending time learning, spending time nurturing my brain and just constantly that’s something I need. Learning about myself has been a great thing. So I feel very content, and I’m very pleased and grateful also for the great friends I’ve had. It’s been refreshing to kind of see them here and my parents too.”