By Abbie Meehan
King Charles III left Emma Raducanu in stitches when he asked if she “had found a coach yet” after presenting the tennis sensation with a prestigious Royal honour.
Raducanu is competing in the women’s singles at Wimbledon as she aims for her second-ever Grand Slam title. The 22-year-old is set to face Marke虂ta Vondrous虒ova虂 in Wednesday’s second round after easing past Mimi Xu in straight sets on day one.
The former US Open champion is desperate to push beyond her previous best of the fourth round of the major tournament as she hunts for that magical Grand Slam triumph once more. But she might just have a rather special supporter in her corner – King Charles III, who shared a cheeky exchange with the young star a few years back.
The British tennis star had her moment with the King shortly after his accession to the throne in November 2022, when she was awarded an MBE for her services to tennis. Raducanu, who was just 20 years old at the time, revealed just how witty and warm the monarch truly is after her Royal encounter.
Speaking to the Sunday Times Style Magazine in 2023, Raducanu admitted that the King had “good banter” when he asked her: “Have you found a coach yet?”
She said: “I was like, ‘That’s good banter!’ It was so funny, I was laughing because everyone was ripping me for not having a coach. I was like, ‘The fact you know this, I feel honoured.'”
Throughout her short but glittering career in tennis, Raducanu has teamed up with many coaches including Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs and Nick Cavaday.
The monarch’s witty remark to the young tennis star shows he’s always in the know when it comes to the latest in sports, leaving Raducanu delighted.
The 22-year-old is currently prepping for more Wimbledon action with her old coach Cavaday and Mark Petchey by her side. After winning her opening match on Monday, Raducanu was full of praise for coach Petchey, rating him “11 out of 10” for his backing during her return to SW19.
She added: “He’s been everything the last few months for me. I’ve really enjoyed being around him. He’s helped me so much on all fronts, tennis, off-court.”