Emma Raducanu Reveals Key to Stellar Grass-Court Start at Queen’s Club 2025
Emma Raducanu, after her commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory over Cristina Bucsa in the first round of the WTA 500 HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club on June 10, 2025, shared that her key to playing great lies in expressing her personality and staying relaxed on court. In her post-match press conference, the 22-year-old Briton explained, “Going on to the court laughing at certain shots, or if I’m smiling if I have pulled off a great shot, it does help relax you. I play my best when my personality is put on the court and I can express myself,” per www.theguardian.com. This approach, she noted, contrasts with past experiences where feeling “constrained to play a certain way” hindered her performance.[](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jun/10/emma-raducanu-katie-boulter-queens-club-tennis)
Raducanu’s “clean and clinical” 64-minute win, avenging a February 2025 loss to Bucsa, showcased her aggressive baseline game, with 20 winners and just 12 unforced errors, per www.tennis365.com. She highlighted her strong start to points, saying, “The biggest thing was that I started the point really well today: serve and return. It was very clean and clinical. I wasn’t giving away too many free points,” per www.theguardian.com. Despite limited grass practice due to a back spasm, her movement impressed, as she admitted, “I moved really well, considering I haven’t had much time on the grass,” per www.theguardian.com.
The home crowd’s support on the Andy Murray Arena boosted her confidence, with Raducanu signing “home turf” on a camera lens, per www.bbc.com. She overcame pre-match nerves, stating, “I was quite locked in today… The way I overcame that was a great achievement,” per www.theguardian.com. Her doubles win with Katie Boulter (6-4, 6-2 over Xinyu Jiang and Fang-Hsien Wu) further honed her grass-court feel, per www.espn.co.uk. Posts on X, like @TheiPaperSport, praised her “understated” return, reflecting fan optimism for her Wimbledon (June 30-July 13) prospects, per @TheiPaperSport.[]
