Emma Raducanu explains why she is ‘celebrating’ minutes after losing Queen’s final | Tennis | Sport

Emma Raducanu says she “has to celebrate” reaching two finals in what has been a tough season. The British No. 1 suffered a bruising 6-0 7-6(6) defeat to lucky loser Donna Vekic in the championship match at Queen’s on Sunday, after a relentless week which saw her matches cancelled and delayed due to rain.

Raducanu started the year with a foot injury, and then split from coach Francisco Roig in late January. A viral illness then sidelined her for more than two months, but she has still finished runner-up at two tournaments in 2026 – the Transylvania Open in February, and now here in west London.

Speaking around half an hour after she left the court, Raducanu – who led 5-2 in the second set and failed to convert two set points – admitted the straight-set defeat “stung”, but had to applaud herself for reaching another final.

“I haven’t really played much this season, but to think I have made two finals so far, which I haven’t done in years, it has to be kind of, in a way, celebrated, and it’s a good achievement for me, and I’m proud of it,” the Brit, who will rise back up to No.31 in the world tomorrow, said. “Right now, it obviously really stings, so I’m just going to try and let myself feel it today but try and get over it pretty quick.”

This was Raducanu’s third career final overall after that unprecedented US Open title run in 2021. But she admitted that she forgot to thank her team during her runner-up speech, and made sure to give them a shoutout later on.

“I think I played really well this week. I think I’m playing pretty freely, pretty aggressively, but finding the right balance, returning, been serving pretty well. It’s important on grass. It’s just nice to have the team that I do,” she explained.

“I mean, I actually felt bad, because there were so many things in my head and people to thank. I think I forgot to mention them out there in the trophy presentation. But, I mean, they have helped me through some really sticky situations in the past few months, and it honestly means the world to me for them to believe unconditionally, so yeah, I wouldn’t be here also without them.”

Raducanu has overcome a lot this week. Several times, she has been left waiting around for hours, only to learn that her match has been cancelled for the day. On Saturday, she slipped on the court during her quarter-final tie, but still won two matches to reach the final. She wore smaller strapping on her inner left thigh in Sunday’s championship match, but soon removed it.

And all of the tennis – and waiting – took its toll. She added: “I have just been dealing with a few niggles over the past few weeks, and of course, the load I have had in the last week, it’s been a great problem to have, you know, playing this many matches. And doubling up yesterday, it’s not easy to kind of recover from.

“So, yeah, grass, these things can happen. You take a few slips. But I think overall I came through a challenging day yesterday. Yeah, I put myself in this position to be in the final. It was an incredible atmosphere again. The crowd were amazing. Yeah, it meant a lot to have the support all week.

“I think Donna also didn’t allow me to really play my game. She came out serving very well, and hitting, striking from the back really well. The first service game I didn’t really make a first serve, so that was straightaway a break.

“But, yeah, of course, like, fatigue, and you’re not driving up as much for your serve, which is such a big thing on grass. It’s just been an amazing week, but it’s also been a long week, waiting around and some long days. Yeah, I think everything happens for a reason. You know, that’s what I’m clinging onto right now.”

Another thing that carried Raducanu through this week was the crowd, a special reminder that the 23-year-old has plenty of support, despite increased scrutiny of her career. “I think it’s incredibly special. You know, playing at home, there is no feeling like it,” she smiled.

“I was so just in awe of the atmosphere and in awe of the support I received all week. I couldn’t really believe it. Even though I know I’m playing at home, it just trumps anything that you ever really think of. For that, I’m really grateful, and I just see how many people are behind me and rooting for me.

“It means a lot, because the results don’t always go your way the whole season. You see things written about you or spoken about you, but when you play at home, you’re just reminded how much support there is actually for you. It means a lot to have that.”

Raducanu could have more home support in Nottingham next week, where she has entered as a wildcard and drawn a qualifier in the first round. But she will likely have to play her first match on Tuesday – a quick turnaround after everything this week.

“I don’t know right now. I pretty much came straight into here. I haven’t necessarily decided. When does it start? Tuesday? Tomorrow?” she asked, looking awkward. “We’ll see, we’ll see!”

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page