Increasingly enamoured by the Australian Open, Emma Raducanu believes that Wimbledon needs an expansion to keep up with one of her favourite tournaments.
The British No1 has always been a popular attraction when she has played at Melbourne Park. On Sunday, she was backed to victory in her first-round match by a supportive crowd, which included loud shouts of “Come on, Raddo” from one particularly vocal spectator.
Wimbledon will always hold a special place in Raducanu’s heart as an All England Club member — she became one of the youngest recipients of a membership invitation after her US Open triumph at the age of 18 in 2021 — but she is acutely aware that the hallowed grounds are in need of more space. The plans, first submitted in 2021, received permission from the Mayor of London’s office last year but are subject to ongoing legal challenges from the Save Wimbledon Park campaign.
An artist’s impression of Wimbledon’s expansion plans, with the new ‘parkland’ show court visible to the right of Centre Court
ALLIES AND MORRISON
One reason given for the expansion, which would include 38 grass courts and a new 8,000-seat stadium, is issues with the ability to practise during the championships. A lack of courts and the nature of the grass surface means that training times are at a premium, which Raducanu — Britain’s only active winner of a grand-slam singles title — has observed.
“I think that the extra space would be really, really beneficial for the tournament,” Raducanu said. “I think they could do much more and it would be really fun.
“The practice courts and the practice situation makes a big difference. Here there are a lot of practice courts at the national tennis centre [on site at Melbourne Park], but you always are crossing your fingers, hoping you get to practise on one of the courts on this side [the main area containing most of the stadiums] so you have to walk a bit less.
There are four stadiums with capacities of more than 5,000 at Melbourne Park, whereas Wimbledon has only two
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“Back home at Wimbledon, when I was seeded it helped and I got good slots. It is quite dependent on your ranking. It’s not as favourable as people might think it is, but you have to fight for your good court times.”
Raducanu has witnessed the transformation of Melbourne Park into a large festival of tennis and entertainment since her first appearance here in 2022. Regular concerts take place involving high-profile musical acts and DJs, and there are four stadiums with more than 5,000 seats. Wimbledon only has two courts above this capacity.
“I really like Australia,” Raducanu said. “I love being here and I love playing here. I think the crowd and the energy is so lively, especially at night. The crowd is definitely quite vocal and rowdy in a good way, which I love.
The practice courts in Melbourne are to Raducanu’s liking and the Brit — who is preparing, below, for a second-round match against Potapova — would like Wimbledon to offer similar facilities
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“So much happens here. There is a lot of concerts. Even in between the games you see all the boards just flashing ads of what’s going on. I saw Peggy Gou is coming here, which is cool. I think it’s cool that they can use this space and there’s such big arenas.
“You feel it the most on John Cain Arena [the second biggest stadium at 10,500], where there’s such big space on the sides that’s difficult to get used to [during matches]. On a big court sometimes you can get lost with where you are and the run back [behind the baseline] is so big. But I really like the Margaret Court Arena [the third biggest stadium at 7,500]. It’s a really intimate court, but a nice one and I feel like the atmosphere there is always amplified.”
Raducanu will almost certainly be scheduled to play on one of the main courts on Wednesday for her second-round match against Anastasia Potapova. Although the pair have never played against each other, Raducanu has long been aware of the 24-year-old, who is a former junior world No1 and won the girls’ singles title at Wimbledon in 2016. Potapova reached a career-high professional ranking of No21 in 2023 but has since dropped to No55.
“I remember watching Anastasia all through juniors,” Raducanu said. “I was the year below her. She was always the player to watch and beat through juniors. She’s been very high-ranked as well in the pros. She is a big hitter. I know it’s going to be a really tricky one. I need to just gather my strength and prepare as best as possible.”
Potapova, who recently switched nationality from Russia to Austria, was a formidable player as a junior
TINGSHU WANG/REUTERS
Potapova is the latest Russian-born player to have switched nationality. Her change to Austria was confirmed in December, after living in Vienna for several years, although eyebrows were raised when she copied sections of a statement which had been put out by Daria Kasatkina to explain her nationality change to Australian.
In her statement on social media, Potapova wrote that Austria is “a place I love, is incredibly welcoming and a place where I feel totally at home”, which was the exact same wording used by Kasatkina in March.
“I don’t find anything wrong with that because you cannot say it in a better way,” Potapova explained on Sunday. “Why not? It was perfect words. I loved it. We loved it with my team, with everyone. I don’t think that it’s something terrible. I think the media just blew it up because they didn’t like me with the fact of it happening. Who cares about posts, right?
“We [Potapova and Kasatkina] talk a lot. We’re actually good friends. Especially about this, nobody cares. There is nothing much to say, to be honest.”