Emma Raducanu on Iga Swiatek similarities: ‘You can’t really compare the journeys’

WTA Tour
Emma Raducanu talks to the media

Emma Raducanu and Iga Swiatek will meet for the first time on the WTA Tour in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix quarter-final and, although the early stages of the careers have had a similar trajectory, the US Open champion insists “we’ve had different pathways”.

Both Raducanu and Swiatek’s first professional titles were Grand Slams and both teenagers when they lifted the trophies. They were also ranked outsiders when they won their majors as Raducanu was outside the top 300 when she was victorious at Flushing Meadows last year and Swiatek was outside the top 50 when she won the 2020 French Open.

Swiatek has since gone on to reach No 1 in the WTA Rankings while Raducanu sits at No 12.

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Raducanu and Swiatek did meet in the juniors at Wimbledon in 2018 and it was the Pole who emerged victorious from their quarter-final clash at SW19.

“I erased it from my memory,” Raducanu – who defeated German Tamara Korpatsch 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 to reach the last eight – joked on WTA Insider before getting serious ahead of their first-ever clash on the WTA Tour, saying the their pathways have been quite different.

“Iga had been playing tennis full time for years before,” she told WTA Insider.

“She was on the ITF Tour, she was on the WTA Tour. I hadn’t played for 18 months, was sitting for my exams, and didn’t really play that many tournaments or trained very much. I was training like three times a week for 10 hours a week last year. So right now it’s about building robustness for sure, playing matches week in and week out.

“You can’t really compare the journeys because we’ve had different pathways. Since she won the Slam she’s done extremely well and remained consistent. I’m not sure when that will happen for me but I’m sure I’ll get there.”

Emma Raducanu Iga Swiatek

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