Emma Raducanu is calling on the advice of England men's football captain Harry Kane as she seeks a deep run at the Australian Open.
Raducanu shot to stardom in 2021 when she became the youngest woman to win the US Open.
However, the 20-year-old heads to Melbourne ranked 77th in the world by the WTA, having only reached one semi-final – at the Korea Open in September – since her triumph at Flushing Meadows.
Raducanu has been nursing an ankle injury prior to the season's first grand slam, but that problem has now cleared up, and she revealed Tottenham star Kane has been offering his advice.
"Harry's obviously such a great role model and very professional and I think to be able to speak to him is really cool," Raducanu told the media.
"We haven't spoken so much but he's obviously an outstanding player, and it's just pretty cool isn't it?
"For someone of his achievements, it's pretty remarkable how he’s so humble. I respect him a lot.
"It's obviously really cool to speak to some other athletes. I think it's good because we all kind of understand what each other are thinking and going through at times.
"And at the end of the day they're just really cool people as well."
Raducanu will face Tamara Korpatsch in her first match in Melbourne on Monday.
Boris Becker ‘working hard with the authorities’ to return to Wimbledon in 2025
Boris Becker says he is “working hard with the authorities” to return to the UK and Wimbledon in 2025.
The three-time Wimbledon men’s singles champion was deported from the UK in December 2022 after serving eight months of a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for hiding £2.5m of assets and loans in a bankruptcy fraud case.
Becker cannot return to the UK until October 2024 at the earliest following his deportation, but the 56-year-old German plans to return to the tournament he says is “in my DNA” as soon as possible.
“Wimbledon has been my favourite tournament as a player, coach and commentator,” Becker said at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid.
“It’s unique, you can’t compare it.
“I lived in Wimbledon a long time so I’m working hard with the authorities to have all the applications ready to be back for next year. We’re working on 2025.
“It’s a part of my life. It’s in my DNA, you can’t deny that.”
Asked if he would be back in the Wimbledon commentary box, Becker replied: “I hope so.”
Becker has not been involved in tennis since stepping down as Holger Rune’s head coach at the start of February.
The pair spent less than four months together, but in that time the 20-year-old qualified for the ATP finals in Italy.
::The 25th Laureus World Sports Awards take place on Monday evening in Madrid. To find out more, and follow the ceremony, visit www.laureus.com
Harry Kane hits 40-goal landmark as Bayern Munich storm to victory
Harry Kane scored his 40th Bayern Munich goal of the season in a 5-1 Bundesliga thumping of Union Berlin.
After reaching the Champions League semi-finals in midweek, Bayern took a step towards securing second place in the league with an emphatic victory.
Leon Goretzka opened the scoring and Kane curled in a free-kick just before half-time to take his league-leading tally to 33.
Thomas Muller scored twice in the second half, either side of a goal from Mathys Tel, with Union limited to a late consolation effort from Yorbe Vertessen.
Fourth-placed RB Leipzig needed a late winner from Lois Openda to claim a 2-1 victory at Heidenheim.
Benjamin Sesko put the visitors ahead late in the first half but Nikola Dovedan levelled before Openda secured the points five minutes from time.
Robin Hack’s hat-trick was not enough to prevent Borussia Monchengladbach from falling to a 4-3 defeat at Hoffenheim.
Hack thought he had earned a point for the visitors when he scored twice late on after Hoffenheim had taken a 3-1 lead with goals from Wout Weghorst, Grischa Promel and Ozan Kabak.
But Anton Stach found the winner for the home side in the first minute of injury time.
Koln’s hopes of survival were dealt a major blow by a 2-0 loss to bottom side Darmstadt, who appear doomed to relegation, while Bochum remain in trouble after a 1-0 loss to Wolfsburg.
Girona’s 4-1 victory over relegation-threatened Cadiz in LaLiga ensured they will be playing European football next season.
Early goals from Eric Garcia and Ivan Martin set the tone, with Artem Dovbyk and Portu making sure of the points in the second half.
Real Betis boosted their hopes of joining Girona with a 2-1 victory away at Valencia.
Ayoze Perez scored twice for the visitors – who sit eighth, two points behind Real Sociedad – either side of a Pepelu penalty.
Celta Vigo went behind at home to Las Palmas but responded brilliantly to claim a 4-1 victory that lifts them six points clear of the bottom three.
Juanma Herzog opened the scoring but Iago Aspas netted twice for Celta along with one each from Williot Swedberg and Anastasios Douvikas.
Rayo Vallecano also eased their relegation fears, Pep Chavarria and Isi Palazon scoring in the final 10 minutes in a 2-1 win over Osasuna.
In Serie A, struggling Empoli stunned defending champions Napoli 1-0, Alberto Cerri scoring the only goal in the fourth minute.
The big match at the bottom had a dramatic finish as Diego Coppola struck in injury time to earn Verona a 1-0 win over Udinese.
Rennes kept alive their hopes of sneaking into the European places in Ligue 1 by beating lowly Nantes 3-0 but they remain four points behind Lens, who defeated bottom side Clermont 1-0 thanks to an early penalty from Florian Sotoca.
Former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza announces retirement
Former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza has announced her retirement from tennis.
The 30-year-old Spaniard won the French Open in 2016 before lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish on Centre Court the following summer but she had not played a competitive match since January 2023.
At a press conference where she was announced as a Laureus Ambassador, Muguruza said: “If 25 years ago, when I started hitting my first tennis balls, someone had told me that I would become a professional tennis player, that I would fulfil my dream of winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon, that I would become number one in the world and win the WTA Finals, I would have thought this person was crazy.
View this post on Instagram“Tennis has given me a lot in this first part of my life. It has been a fantastic journey in which I have experienced unique situations. I have travelled all over the world and experienced many different cultures.
“I am tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped and accompanied me throughout this chapter, because without them I would not have been able to get here.
“I have grown and matured in a very different way than what can be considered normal, and now I am ready to start a new chapter in my life, which will surely be linked in some way to tennis and sports.
“I hope that my collaboration with Laureus Sport for Good is the beginning of many more projects in which I can dedicate myself and help young people through sport.”
Muguruza turned professional in 2012 and reached her first grand slam final three years later at Wimbledon, where she was beaten by Serena Williams.
But the big-hitting Spaniard took revenge in 2016 when she stunned Williams in the final at Roland Garros, and a year later she beat Venus Williams to add the Wimbledon trophy to her collection.
She climbed to the top of the rankings in September 2017, where she stayed for four weeks, but consistency was not Muguruza’s strong point and she slipped down the standings before a resurgence in 2020.
Muguruza reached her fourth grand slam final at the Australian Open, losing to American Sofia Kenin, and she returned to the world’s top three at the end of 2021 after winning the WTA Finals for the first time.
But the next season saw her plummet back down the rankings and her retirement comes as no surprise given her long hiatus from the sport.
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