Emma Raducanu sets fans' tongues wagging as she turns up to see Carlos Alcaraz who after makes flattering admission

CARLOS ALCARAZ hailed the support of Emma Raducanu in the Queen's stands as he booked a spot in the final.
British No1 Raducanu had tennis fans' tongues wagging as she watched her US Open doubles partner cruise to a straight sets 6-4 6-4 win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
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Alcaraz was cool as a cucumber throughout and hit an audacious volley to win the first set over the Spanish 37-year-old to set up the final clash with Jiri Lehecka.
The 22-year-old has not lost since April 20 in Barcelona and is enjoying the longest winning streak of his career with 17 successive victories.
When asked about Raducanu, who he has previously been romantically linked with online, Alcaraz said: 'I saw on social media she came up to watch my match,
'Just glad that she came to support, to watch my match. It was great having her in the stands."
Further quizzed if he could return the favour by attending some of Raducanu's matches prior to their US Open date, Alcaraz added: "Well, it depends on the schedule, obviously.
"I have practices. I have matches. Yeah, I would love to, yeah, if I have time, if, you know, if everything -- if I'm at the club or I don't have anything else to do, yeah, I would love to come and watch her.
"I'm watching her matches from the TV every time that I can. So watching her in real could be fun."
Alcaraz is in red hot form with four titles to his name already this year and hunting down a third successive Wimbledon title later this month.
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First, he will attempt to beat Lehecka to lift his second title in three years at the Queen's Club.
Raducanu, meanwhile, will be in Eastbourne action tomorrow as she prepares for Wimbledon.
'She was not OK' - Axed coach claims Emma Raducanu's mental state played major role in his swift exit
The 22-year-old lost to Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals at Queen's last week.
Having received treatment on court, Raducanu subsequently pulled out of this week's WTA 500 event in Berlin.
The former US Open champion is fit again and will take on America's Ann Li at Devonshire Park on Monday.
Should Raducanu triumph, she could face two-time former Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur in round two.

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Carlos Alcaraz's massive net worth and true feelings on Emma Raducanu as she makes visit

Carlos Alcaraz's massive net worth and true feelings on Emma Raducanu as she makes visit Carlos Alcaraz is in the final at Queen's on Sunday and faces off against Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka Carlos Alcaraz (Image: 2025 CameraSport ) Carlos Alcaraz is in the final at Queen's on Sunday with the Spaniard aiming to head into Wimbledon with some more silverware in his trophy cabinet. The tennis ace faces Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka in West Kensington today with a prize pot of £350,773 up for grabs for the winner. ‌ Alcaraz is fresh from beating Jannik Sinner in a thrilling French Open final at Roland Garros where he fought back from an almost impossible position to beat the Italian in the latest instalment of their rivalry. ‌ Novak Djokovic views both players as beneficial to the sport, saying: "They're definitely great for tennis, both of them. I think their rivalry is something that our sport needs, no doubt. "The way they are playing and approaching tennis life, I think they are going to have very successful careers in the next years." Alcaraz, with his status as a two-time Wimbledon champion and a reported net worth of £35.6million, had high praise for his opponent Sinner, saying: "He's the best tennis player right now. I mean, he's destroying every opponent." Article continues below Emma Raducanu is seen in attendance during the Men's Singles semi-final match between Carlos Alcaraz and Roberto Bautista Agut (Image: Luke Walker, Getty Images for LTA ) Apart from his achievements on the court, Alcaraz's private life has garnered public interest, especially after securing his second Wimbledon title last year. His relationships have notably come into focus amid his rising profile in the world of tennis. After clinching his latest Wimbledon title, the tennis world buzzed with curiosity about Alcaraz's rapport with British tennis star Emma Raducanu, who was seen supporting him from Centre Court. ‌ She also came to see him play in the last four at Queen's on Saturday, being pictured on the Queen's balcony. After securing his 17th win in succession, Alcaraz beamed: "I saw on social media she came up to watch my match. I'm just glad. "I mean, I was focused on the match. I didn't see her afterwards. I am just glad that she came to support me, to watch my match. Yeah, I think it was great having her in the stands." ‌ Alcaraz expressed his enthusiasm to support her at a match before the US Open, saying: "It depends on the schedule, obviously. I have practices. I have matches. "Yeah, I would love to, yeah, if I have time, if I'm at the club or I don't have anything else to do, yeah, I would love to come and watch her. I'm watching her matches from the TV every time that I can. So watching her for real could be fun." Alcaraz and Raducanu will be paired with each other at the US Open later this year. ‌ Alcaraz said of their partnership: "I'm super excited about it. I think it's going to be great. It was an amazing idea for the tournament. I was thinking that I couldn't play better if it wasn't with Emma. "I just asked Emma if she wants to play doubles with me. Yeah, I made that special request. She took a while to respond. Not that much, not that much! But obviously she had to ask, and she had to think a little bit. But it wasn't a minute! "I have known Emma for a really long time. I have a really good relationship with her. We are gonna enjoy it for sure. We will try to win. But obviously it's going to be really, really fun." ‌ Alcaraz previously dated within the tennis circle, and was linked with fellow Spanish player Maria Gonzalez Gimenez of Murcia Tennis Club, known for participating in Spanish Masters and ATP Challenger tournaments. The details of their time together are somewhat unclear, but Maria, who juggles a law degree at the University of Murcia with her tennis, is thought to have been in a long-term relationship with Alcaraz before their split. A picture capturing an intimate moment between them was even shared on his Instagram story, as highlighted by Tennis Tonic. However, the Spanish prodigy has confirmed he is currently single. ‌ Addressing questions about his personal life, he affirmed: "No, I am single. I am looking for someone." In discussing the end of their relationship, he mentioned: "It can be difficult as a tennis player to meet the right person because you are travelling all the time." Alcaraz boasts a portfolio of impressive endorsements, including a decade-long deal with Nike purportedly valued at £12million to £15.8million annually. Article continues below His partnerships extend to Babolat, BMW Group, LVMH and Rolex, and he also represents Saudi Arabia's tennis federation as an ambassador.

BBC News

an hour ago

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Mind games are part of Lions' folklore - and here we go again

Verbal jousting on British and Irish Lions tours is as much a part of the deal as the rugby itself - and the mind games started anew in recent coach Joe Schmidt (a Kiwi) on one side and Lions general manager of performance David Nucifora (an Australian) on the other. The psychological bunfights have described Sione Tuipulotu (Melbourne-born) and Bundee Aki (Auckland-born) as the "southern hemisphere centre partnership" in the Lions' opener against Argentina on Friday night. And they are. But was it an innocent remark or one with a bit of edge? Bet the house on the would know well that this is a touchy subject for some in Lionsland, most notably the great Willie John McBride, who is not on board with so many 'foreigners' playing for the Lions. In the squad there are two South African-born players, three born in Australia and four born in New had a little jibe of his own, all before the Lions plane took off for Perth. "I'm sure that lots of mind games will go on..." he told the Daily Telegraph, while mentioning the "mental spar" of Lions called Schmidt a "deep thinker" which he is. "Sometimes, if you think too deeply you'll confuse yourself," he added. "So, hopefully he gets confused overthinking things." Another grenade hard to pinpoint the precise moment when mind games began on Lions tours, but we have an impeccable witness in plumping for 1896 in South Walter Carey was on that tour. As well as being a rugby player he became the Bishop of Bloemfontein in later life, so if a man of the cloth says that the trash talking began in 1896 then who are we to argue?Carey wrote about South African psychological tricks, one of which centred around a man they would play in upcoming games. Wrote Carey: "We were told that the great Jack Orr, supposed to be a regular man-killer, was waiting to put us all in the hospital."Shots fired, as we say these days. Orr got injured before he could annihilate anybody so, mercifully, nobody ended up in the emergency this stuff, in many different forms, has been going on for 129 years. And here's more of it. Erasmus and the hour-long video of woes - South Africa 2021 A mind game, not against the Lions directly, but psychological pressure stacked on top of officials who were in line to referee the Boks in the second and third the Lions won the first Test in 2021, the Springbok director of rugby went to war on referee Nic Berry and his assistants with a stinging attack by way of used 26 clips that, to his eyes, showed injustice against the Boks on the part of Berry and his colleagues. On top of myriad claims of poor decision-making he also said that Berry had treated the two captains differently, stating that Bok captain, Siya Kolisi, wasn't given the same respect as Lions captain Alun Wyn was some truth in what he claimed and much victimhood nonsense. The whole thing was deeply unsavoury. Erasmus was later suspended for 12 months. Was it an effective mind game? Did he get in the heads of the officials in Tests two and three? Well, they won both of them, so it could be argued that way. Hansen tries to kill the Lions with kindness - New Zealand 2017 Mind games come in different shapes and sizes and in 2017 in New Zealand, the All Blacks coach came at it on multiple love-bombing the tourists and saying how great they were he attempted to put the burden of expectation on them. "I think this is the best British and Irish Lions team that we've seen come here for a long, long time," he all good mind games, there was a large degree of truth in it. The 2017 crop was an extremely strong then went for it: "It's going to be a very good side and they'll come with a lot of expectation which I think is going to be interesting to see how they cope with that... a lot more expectation than they've been used to, because people expect them to win."The 'kindness' didn't last, of course. 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The Australia media launched rockets at the violent tourists in the wake of the game, with a lot of coach Bob Dwyer questioned some of the injuries his boys suffered - 'are you listening, third Test officials?' - while the Australian Rugby Union went into emergency session about the ugliness of it all. The Wallaby captain went a lot further, though."To me, basically, it's open warfare," said Farr-Jones before the final Test. "They've set the rules. They've set the standards. As far as I'm concerned, if the officials aren't going to control it, we're going to have to do something about it."You've been warned, was the crystal clear message. "I don't care if I get 100 stitches as long as we are on top on the scoreboard at the end," added the rallying cry to his own players, part message sent to the heart of the Lions, it didn't work. The Lions completed a historic comeback, with a little help from a bungling David Campese. Connor writes off the Lions before they arrive - New Zealand 1971 It was Barry John's tour but it began badly. Hungover from an almighty boozing session in Hong Kong, the Lions took a hellish flight to Brisbane for a warm-up game against Queensland. Exhausted from the high-living and heavy travelling, they played appallingly and lost."I wanted to lie down and die," said lock Gordon Brown. "We had no idea what time, day or place it was," remarked Gareth Edwards. "I wouldn't say I was playing, but I was on the field," said Connor was the Queensland coach. As a player he had won 12 caps for Australia and another 12 for the All Blacks. With the Lions now heading to New Zealand for the tour proper, Connor was euphoric."These Lions are hopeless," he trumpeted. "Undoubtedly the worst team ever to come here."Er... By the mid-point of the tour the Kiwi public were shocked at how mesmeric the Lions were and by the end-point, with a historic first and still only Lions series win on New Zealand soil, they were eulogising them as the greatest team they'd ever epic mind game fail was a reminder that judging the Lions on early performances is unwise. It was daft in 1971 and, after Friday night's loss to the Pumas, Andy Farrell will be hoping that it's just as daft more than a half a century later.

The Sun

an hour ago

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