Emma Raducanu has shed light on her friendship with Carlos Alcaraz after they signed up to play mixed doubles together at the US Open later this year. Ahead of their blockbuster link-up, the Brit even headed to Queen’s over the weekend to watch the world No. 2 win his semi-final match.

Alcaraz had admitted Raducanu took a while to respond to his request to join forces on the doubles court. And the 22-year-old has now joked that she had to “keep him on his toes” before giving a response.

Last week, the five-time Major winner confirmed that he was the one who asked Raducanu to team up. “She took a while,” he jibed.

But Raducanu has explained that she needed to consult her team before making a final decision. “Gotta keep them on their toes!” she laughed.

“I mean, of course, I had to ask my team if they wanted me to play. But for me, when he asked me, I was going to say yes, I just had to kind of go through the formality of asking my coach, so I didn’t just make the decision.”

The pair go way back, and Raducanu admitted Alcaraz played a role in her run to the US Open title in 2021, as she watched him make his way to the quarter-final and wanted to chase him. So it will be a full circle moment for them to team up in Flushing Meadows.

She continued: “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.

“And 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.

“And I remember he beat Stef [Tsitsipas] in the third round and it was like a big win, his breakout kind of win on a big stage and it was really cool to kind of, I guess, go through that tournament together and then I kept going through the US Open, but we were staying in touch for the whole time and yeah, it’s nice.”

Raducanu gravitates towards those who have known her since before her US Open triumph, and it’s no different with Alcaraz – even though he’s gone on to become a multi-Grand Slam champion.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

The British No. 1 can also relate to Alcaraz’s need to disconnect from the sport. While the Spaniard is known for his yearly trips to Ibiza, Raducanu prefers more low-key activities like yoga and going on walks.

She explained: “I think in that sense, we are quite similar. We both play our best I think when we’re in a good creative way, we’re enjoying it. You see us smile on the court and have fun and really just lean into those positive emotions

“And I think whenever I have played with, you know, trying to channel any negativity or any of that kind of energy, I don’t do so well, and other players might be different, but for me, I need to be in that kind of pretty positive and creative way.

“And I think that is in a way, when I see him play, he’s always got a smile on his face and enjoying it and that’s I feel like why he’s able to do such crazy shots, turn points around that he’s maybe not favoured to and pull out these ridiculous shots because it’s like a coming from a place of curiosity. Like, what can I do with this? You know, like, can I turn this point around? It’s amazing to have that on the men’s side and take inspiration when I can.”

Raducanu herself enjoyed a day off on Saturday, heading to the Queen’s Club to watch Alcaraz in action. But she doesn’t think the world No. 2 will return the favour and travel to Eastbourne this week.

“I doubt it. I doubt it. But no, I saw some like really cool drop volleys and I was like, yes, let’s save some of that! But he’s got plenty to plenty of magic to bring to New York,” she laughed.

“But it was just, I was having the day off on Saturday and I was with my friends and we were like, let’s go to Queen’s and watch the tennis and then we went out and to the River Cafe in the evening, it was super nice evening, and then just came here on Sunday.”