Bianca Andreescu on facing Emma Raducanu for the first time: ‘It looks like I got my wish’

There are several similarities between Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu, but the former describes it as “just really weird coincidences”.

They were both born in Ontario, Canada, and have Romanian heritage. They also won their first Grand Slam at the US Open while still teenagers with Andreescu lifting the trophy in 2019 and Raducanu winning it in 2021.

The Canadian was also the first player to win the US Open in her main draw debut and Raducanu joined her in that circle two years later as she became the first qualifier to win a major.

But Andreescu is refusing to read too much into the comparisons, telling the official WTA website: “I’ve thought about the parallels, but I don’t go crazy,” she says. “It’s just a really weird coincidence.”

The Canadian followed Raducanu’s win at Flushing Meadows last year and admitted at the time that she would like to play the Brit and her wish as has been granted as they will square off in the first-ever meeting at the Italian Open this week.

“I watched her win the US Open, and I was really happy for her because I won it basically around her age,” she said.

“Obviously she was playing a Canadian, so that was really nice too. She’s a really great player, so I’m expecting a really good match. I remember saying, ‘I want to play her,’ and it looks like I got my wish.”

Raducanu also watched when Andreescu lifted the title in 2019 and picked out her rival’s strong points ahead of their clash.

“Yeah, I watched that tournament,” Raducanu said. “I thought Bianca was playing incredibly well. I think her physicality is one of her strengths, how good she is moving, how low she stays. I think that’s really cool. And probably something I can learn from myself.”