Emma Raducanu seemingly enjoyed her Christmas in New Zealand very much as the British tennis star spent some time in nature and explored the country’s landscape.
For this year’s offseason, the former world No. 10 wanted to do something different so she traveled to Australia for preseason work on December 12th.
After getting some work done in Australia, the 22-year-old hopped on a plane and flew to Auckland, where she is set to start her 2025 season.
And since she arrived in New Zealand early, Raducanu was also able to get some quality time before the start of the ASB Classic.
“Merry Christmas. Hope you all had a nice day,” the 22-year-old captioned her post.
Emma Raducanu© Emma Raducanu/Instagram – Fair Use
Emma Raducanu© Emma Raducanu/Instagram – Fair Use
Emma Raducanu© Emma Raducanu/Instagram – Fair Use
Meal© Emma Raducanu/Instagram – Fair Use
Lake© Emma Raducanu/Instagram – Fair Use
The Auckland organizers were determined to get Raducanu
When confirming the British tennis star for their tournament in mid-November, Auckland tournament director Nicolas Lamperin very honestly confessed that they were willing to pay a hefty price to land the 2021 US Open champion because she draws attention and sells tickets.
“Someone like Emma will always be on top of our list, she’s a marquee player, her ranking doesn’t really matter in terms of the star power that she brings to the tournament,” Lamperin said in November.
“It’s an investment but it’s worth it. We’ve seen the effect on ticket sales, every time we have announced her there is always a major spike. We have also seen the reaction from our sponsors when we are having a discussion and sharing the possibility that she might be coming.”
For Raducanu, this will be her third appearance at the ASB Classic.
In the past two years, she exited the tournament in the round-of-16.
This year, the current world No. 57 will be joined by two other big names as Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep are also set to play.
It remains to be seen if the 22-year-old Briton can have her best Auckland result next week.
Tennis World USA