After beating a former Wimbledon champion on Centre Court, it was natural that Emma Raducanu might be in high spirits.
But as the 22-year-old British No1 conducted her media duties after her straight-sets thrashing of Marketa Vondrousova, Raducanu could hardly contain her joy.
As she discussed how happy she was with how she had played against the 2023 winner, Raducanu did so with a mile-wide smile, paused for giggles, and at one point jokingly turned the microphone around as if to say to the celebrating crowd: ‘your turn’.
This Raducanu is a far cry from the muted presence she struck three weeks ago ahead of Queen’s where she tried to keep expectation low after suffering a recurrence of a persistent back issue.
It’s different too from the guarded figure that has sometimes struggled under the glare of pressure that has stemmed from her meteoric rise to prominence in the wake of her 2021 US Open triumph.
Instead, Raducanu seemed truly at home in the spotlight of Centre Court, a feeling that stems not just from the afterglow of a win, but doing so in front of a player box filled with the people who make up the world No40’s inner circle.
Emma Raducanu looked overflowing with happiness after beating Marketa Vondrousova – and part of the reason down to her solid inner circle
Raducanu was supported by a raft of old friends on Centre Court (BACK ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: Benjamin Heynold’s mother, Michael Churich, Chelsea Annalls, Nicole Petchey, Myah Petchey, Ryan Cohen FRONT ROW: Tessa Teo, Raducanu’s friend Shauna, Raducanu, Carla Wilfert, and Heynold)
The British No1 has also firmed up her coaching arrangement (LEFT TO RIGHT: Dan Ellis, Ian Aylward, Jane O’Donoghue, and Mark Petchey)
Here, Mail Sport takes a look at the supporting cast in Raducanu’s corner who will look to cheer on the British No1 to Grand Slam glory in SW19.
Finding the right team with her ’11 out of 10′ coach
The re-introduction of Mark Petchey to Raducanu’s set-up around the Miami Open has been nothing short of seismic for the young star. As well as ironing out the kinks in her service game, Andy Murray’s former coach has injected a new energy and self-belief into the player by telling Raducanu to forget the burden of her US Open win and focus on her future development.
Raducanu, always a vocal player on court when in her pomp, frequently looks to Petchey for on-court guidance and encouragement.
As much as Petchey values Raducanu’s talent, she has been equally effusive in her praise for him, sharing that she would mark him ’11 out of 10′ for the impact he has had since his arrival.
‘He’s been everything the last few months for me,’ Raducanu said after her win against Mimi Xu. ‘I’ve really enjoyed being around him.
‘He’s helped me so much on all fronts, tennis, off-court.’
Petchey and Raducanu’s arrangement is in place until the end of the Championships. Regardless of the length of Raducanu’s time in SW19, it seems more than likely that she will fight to keep Petchey onside.
Raducanu has also grown close to his daughters Nicole and Myah, and in his absence at the French Open – Petchey has continued his work as a pundit for the Tennis Channel – the 22-year-old joked that she could rely on the latter in her player box for a similar effect.
Petchey has had a transformative effect on Raducanu’s game and mindset since joining her team in the spring (BACK ROW: LTA Senior Performance Analyst and IMG agent Thomas Houchin)
Raducanu has also grown closer with his 23-year-old daughter Myah through the set-up
Myah provided the support needed when her father was unable to feature in Raducanu’s corner at the French Open
‘I knew Myah a little bit before, but got to know her a lot more in the last couple of months. I actually think having her there really helped – because I was like “It’s a mini-Mark!” Raducanu said of the 23-year-old after her first-round defeat of Wang Xinyu.
‘She’s gonna hate me for saying that! Having her there definitely was like a little symbolic representation of Mark.”
Raducanu has also been working with an LTA nutritionist Dan Ellis, and one of their physios Ian Aylward, and her hitting partner for the tournament Tom Welsh was also present for the win, as was her agent at IMG, Thomas Houchin, and LTA Senior Performance Analyst Toby West.
But perched next to Petchey was a more unusual, if ever-present, character: tennis coach-turned-financier Jane O’Donoghue.
O’Donoghue worked with Raducanu as a junior but has since left tennis coaching for a career in banking. Although O’Donoghue had previously supported Raducanu when her job with Royal Bank of Canada allowed for it, she has been a constant on tour this season after taking a sabbatical.
‘She’s a great friend,’ said Raducanu. ‘She just brings a lot of support, someone who knows me inside out, better than I know myself. So just to have her there, her belief and confidence in me, it means a lot. I love seeing her there in the box.’
But Raducanu has been continue to play down the suggestion that she would like O’Donoghue full-time, stressing the importance of her current career.
‘It would be a very big ask for me and I’m not sure if that’s something that I want to do because we have a great friendship,’ Raducanu continued.
Also present to take in the win was her former interim coach Tom Welsh, who shared a tongue-in-cheek social media post afterwards
The support of O’Donoghue, who is on sabbatical, this season has been vital for Raducanu
It is different when you mix friendship with having someone on your team full-time. So I really want to protect our relationship.’
Friends who have become family
As much as Raducanu has said that she feels ‘at home’ at Wimbledon, her experience on Wednesday was boosted by the presence of friends that she considers her family.
‘I was out there with my friends. It’s so rad,’ Raducanu said in her post-match press conference. ‘I have all of them here in one place. They’ve been my rock through everything. They’re the closest people to me outside of my family. That was really special.
‘I think it adds more significance because they never really get to come and watch me. We made it an annual thing. They can come to Wimbledon. It aligns with everyone’s calendar. A lot of them live in America.
‘They’re friends from secondary school, childhood. One of them I’ve known since I was 6 years old. Then another one since I was 14.
‘Yeah, it’s just so special. They’re in the box there. When I look over to them, it just gives me an extra boost of motivation.’
Chief among the pack in the player box on Wednesday afternoon was a childhood friend who has been linked romantically to Raducanu previously, re-sparking rumours last month when he sat court-side during her run at Queen’s.
Heynold has been a fixture in Raducanu’s player box since her appearance at Queen’s
The 24-year-old has at points been romantically linked to Raducanu but neither have discussed this publicly
Like Cohen (far left), Heynold has been friends with Raducanu since before her US Open win
Having accompanied her in New York for that triumph, Heynold must have a unique perspective on her rise
Benjamin Heynold, who is currently studying at the University of North Carolina, was present for her historic US Open win four years ago, and first met Raducanu as junior tennis players.
As one of the few in New York able to cheer Raducanu on in person amid post-Covid-19 restrictions, Heynold will likely have a unique perspective on her rise to fame.
So close with the family is Raducanu that Heynold’s mother was also inside Centre Court as part of the player’s group on Wednesday.
Other friends who date back beyond that US Open win include Ryan Cohen, a Boston-based product manager who was pictured visiting Winter Wonderland with Heynold and the star the year before her celebrity exploded.
Close girlfriends in her corner on Wednesday include London-based junior doctor Tessa Teo, Carla Wilfert – who attended the match with her boyfriend, UCLA American football star Michael Churich – personal trainer Chelsea Annalls, and Raducanu’s close friend Shauna, who lives in Dubai.
The group were keen to share their support for their friend, with Churich and Annalls among those to post about their visit to SW19 on social media.
Raducanu’s friend Wilfert took in the win alongside her boyfriend, UCLA athlete Churich
The college American football star also shared photos of the match throughout the day, as did Annalls
Raducanu was similarly supported by friends after her first-round clash – and they will have her back when she goes toe-to-toe with Aryna Sabalenka
Wilfert, who studied psychology at UCLA and current works for US production company Fox, said that she ‘couldn’t be more proud’ of Raducanu in a heartfelt tribute via her Instagram Story.
In the wake of her win, the group gathered outside the entrance to players’ area, sweeping Raducanu up into hugs and celebrating her win in full voice, captured by the gang in videos which Raducanu shared in her own post with the caption: ‘means the world having these people by my side (white heart emoji)’
Meaningful emotionally, yes. But in having finally assembled an extended support system around her that appears to have made her happier than ever, Raducanu will fervently hold that it will mean something too for her game as she prepares to take on world No1 Aryna Sabalenka en route to a long-dreamt-of second Grand Slam title.
