Emma Raducanu ‘romance’ rumours fuelled by the British media at Wimbledon
Emma Raducanu is the centre of attention once again as she plays in her home Grand Slam at Wimbledon and the British media have been speculating on one regular attendee in her players’ box.
Benjamin Heynold was courtside for her historic US Open win four years ago, with their friendship dating back to their days playing junior tennis together in Britain.
Heynold has been a vocal supporter of Raducanu in her first two matches at Wimbledon and he has also been prominent in her social media posts in recent weeks.
The British No 1 has not commented on her friendship with Heynold, but that has not stopped the tabloid media from speculating on his relationship with the 22-year-old.
Raducanu will always attract this kind of attention as he name and image sells well on websites and with what is left of the print newspaper industry, with the rumours of a romance with Carlos Alcaraz fuelled by the media in recent weeks.
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Alcaraz and Raducanu will team up for the mixed doubles event at the US Open later this year, with Raducanu confirming she is a big fan of her fellow Grand Slam champion.
“I’ve known him for years and actually in Wimbledon 2021, it was like kind of the first time I started getting to know him, and I had a good run there and then also again in the US Open in 2021,” said Raducanu.
“I remember he was always playing the day before me and I was playing like the second day of the round. And I would see him win and then I would have motivation to win and get myself into that position too.
“We have a good relationship still. He’s obviously overtaken me a lot, but it’s nice that we have that from a while ago.
“I think for all of us, we really kind of value those connections that we had from when we were young because when you become a bit more known or a bit more successful, you just find yourself reverting back to people you knew from a young age because you’re like, that’s a real genuine connection, because it becomes very busy and you have a lot more friends, but the ones that you’ve known for a long time mean a lot more to you.”
There were bizarre stories in recent weeks focusing on sightings of Raducanu and Alcaraz together, but media on site at Wimbledon were aware that the pair were due to take part in an Evian promotion event two days before the Championships, so an appearance together was hardly surprising.
Yet the enduring appeal of Raducanu will ensure speculation and rumours will always hover around her and the stories linking her with her friend Heynold are an extension of that.
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