Emma Raducanu revealed she was the one who reached out to Elena Rybakina to play doubles in Washington and also shared a little story behind her decision.
This week, Raducanu, 22, and 26-year-old Rybakina debuted as a pair at the WTA 500 tournament in Washington. In their very first match as a duo, they impressively defeated No. 4 seeds Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls. The British/Kazakh duo also saw off Giuliana Olmos and Aldila Sutjiadi before retiring in the semifinal due to heat and feeling unwell.
Asked how they came to the idea to share the same side of the court in Washington, Raducanu revealed that she and Rybakina actually planned to play doubles together in Cincinnati three years ago. For some reason, their plans were ruined. So during a recent practice, the 22-year-old remembered that and figured out to ask the Kazakh if she was interested in teaming up with her in Washington.
Raducanu: I asked Rybakina to play doubles in Washington and she easily agreed
"How it came about, so in 2022 in Cincinnati, me and Elena were going to play doubles together, and that fell through. Then here, when I was in DC, I thought it would be a good idea to play doubles, get some extra matches in these conditions. It's very different," the British tennis star shared.
"And also the fact we were able to play before singles, I think that really helped. So, yeah, she was walking off the practice court, and I was on the practice court, and I was just, like, 'Okay, I'll give it a shot.' I wasn't really bothered if she said no. I asked her, and she was, like, 'Yeah, sure. That's how it came about.'"
Before retiring their Washington doubles semifinal, Raducanu and Rybakina both played in singles and won their matches, but the hot and humid conditions left on the two and they simply didn't have enough for the doubles match.
