Emma Raducanu is preparing for what promises to be her most promising year since her triumphant US Open win in 2021.

This optimism stems in part from a refreshing autumn spent revitalizing herself in London.

The 23-year-old, currently ranked 29th globally, has been enjoying the comfort of her childhood home in Bromley over recent weeks.

“I really need rest days from my rest days,” she humorously remarked to reporters, highlighting her inability to stay idle for long.

Feeling rejuvenated, Raducanu has moved past the distressing stalking incident that cast a shadow over her year, showcasing the risks athletes face. “This off-season has been so nice,” she shares. “I have loved being in Bromley.”

Emma Raducanu has been loving life in London, staying in her childhood bedroom in Bromley

It has been an autumn of vineyards, coffee houses, art galleries, and language learning for her

She has been hanging out with the England rugby team but also enjoyed lower-key moments 

Raducanu will spend a chunk of this month at a pre-season camp in Barcelona with her new coach Francisco Roig, who she hired in August. She’s had to pull out of a couple of exhibition matches in the United States due to a foot issue but she’s able to train.

‘He wants me to focus a lot more on building a better Emma Raducanu and a better base level,’ she says.

But don’t underestimate the power of the off-season. To take a look through Raducanu’s Instagram recently is to see her smile glowing brighter than before and see her surrounded by a community of friends. 

In early November, she soaked up the joys of a vineyard in Kent and announced that she was finally home. It has been a long year – 22 tournaments, 50 matches – and the chance to unwind, strolling among the grapes in a blue jumper, was a welcome change of pace. 

Since then, Raducanu has busied herself like a socialite with a thousand hobbies. Last month, she shared pictures of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings inside the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. 

That visit appears to be related to the year-long art course she signed up to over the summer. ‘It gives me something different to do,’ she said at the time. ‘And because a lot of my subjects at school were so quantitative — maths and economics — art history is completely different. You have to challenge your brain and ways of thinking. It’s really fascinating.’

On her days off from art, there has been plenty of other things to do. In mid-November she paid a visit to the England rugby team in training, practicing line-outs, doing some kicking with Marcus Smith, and delivering a talk about herGrand Slam success. 

The hope was that Raducanu’s charm and energy could inspire Steve Borthwick’s men to their first win over the All Blacks since 2019 – and that’s exactly what happened. 

The tennis golden girl says she is often not even recognised while on the tube in London 

It has been a chance for Raducanu to connect with the people that mean to most to her 

Raducanu showed off her new hairstyle as she prepares for a fresh start in 2026

She larked around with her stylist Nicola Noviello, who praised her ‘British elegance’

Raducanu watched from the stands at Twickenham as England dispatched New Zealand 33-19, joined by her friend, Bridgerton leading lady Simone Ashley. Afterwards, there was time to pose holding the Hillary Shield alongside Henry Pollock and have a chat with captain Maro Itoje. 

In other moments she has stayed away from the limelight. After all, being back in London for an extended period has given her a chance to reconnect with family and friends, something exceedingly precious for a globetrotting star. 

She celebrated her 23rd birthday dining at Cambio de Tercio in South Kensington, London. Some would call it tennis’ favourite restaurant, with its eye-popping customer list including Raducanu, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Feliciano Lopez, Garbine Muguruza, Tim Henman, Jack Draper, and, er, Carlos Alcaraz. Need we go on?

‘Dear Cambio family! Thank you for the best birthday meal,’ Raudcanu wrote on a plate. You made my day and my food is de locos. Gracias.’

There have been evening strolls with friends around the luxurious streets of south-west London – including Jack Coman, who some believe to be a romance interest – and trips to new coffee shops in Bromley. 

And don’t forget the new haircut. She was tended to by hairdresser Nicola Noviello, a stylist at Belgravia-based salon Hershesons. Noviello claimed it was a pairing of ‘Italian hands’ with ‘British elegance’.

During the salon trip, Raducanu appeared to entertain herself reading Blackstone CEO Stephen A Schwarzman’s What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence. 

In short, then, it has been a time of learning, decompressing, and reconnecting with her childhood, a formula which has Raducanu seemingly the happiest she has been in a long time.  

She has also been taking a course in art history (pictured at the Frieze Art Fair in 2024 

Her off-season has also included a trip to Twickenham to watch England beat New Zealand

She has been some rare time away from the court in London during the off-season

‘I have loved being in Bromley. It reminds me of when I was a kid – same bedroom, same everything,’ she said. 

‘I’ve been commuting on the train at rush hour every day which has been an experience. It’s like my switch-off. As soon as I get on the South Western to Waterloo I’m just like, my day is done now.

‘Sometimes, but you know what’s funny – in rush hour, people are so locked-in into their worlds, so zoned out, they’re not really paying attention,’ says Raducanu. ‘It’s crazy, the haste in which everyone’s walking: you have to get the elbows out just to get through.

‘‘My neck doesn’t hurt as much. I’m not looking down as much. I’m like, OK, what if they see me on the tube? It’s not a bad thing. If people recognise me and want to come up to me, that’s great. I don’t feel like I’m hiding any more.’ 

She’s now even worried about the ‘fixed’ fan who stalked her around the Middle East anymore. ‘Honestly, I have gotten over it,’ she told reporters recently. 

Picking up her childhood love of studying again has sharpened her mind and given her more to focus on than just her tennis aspirations. 

‘I’ll start mixing languages and don’t even know what I’m saying!’ she says.

‘It’s been great for me to put my mind to something else, to feed my brain – I’m prone to overthinking, my brain will just keep going if I don’t give it something to think about.

‘Having these subjects I’m studying, it does remind me of when I was younger and I was juggling two things (tennis and school). I’m putting deadlines on myself to achieve certain things and having homework to do. It’s all very nostalgic, but in a good way.

‘I’ve learned a lot about myself this year. The start of the year was not very smooth. I went through some very difficult times on and off the court but it really taught me the strength that I have to pull myself out of it. Also what I need to do to avoid falling back in again.

‘A lot of it is spending time studying, nurturing my brain. That’s something I need. So I feel very content. I’m pleased with the progress I’m making in myself as a person, maturing. I’m pleased and grateful for the great friends I have – and my parents, too.’