'Really weird coincidence' - Bianca Andreescu plays down Emma Raducanu parallels ahead of Italian Open match

Bianca Andreescu says the parallels between herself and Emma Raducanu are a “really weird coincidence” as they prepare to meet in the first round of the Italian Open. Both players won their first Grand Slam title at the US Open as teenagers – Andreescu as a 19-year-old in 2019 and Raducanu as an 18-year-old in 2021. Ad/> They also both have Romanian parentage (Andreescu's mother and father are Romanian, as is Raducanu's father) and were both born in Ontario, Canada.

WTA RomeSwiatek's dilemma, Raducanu's accidental swear and Shapovalov's lesson — Rome diary13 HOURS AGO Andreescu and Raducanu have also both faced various challenges to stay at the top of the game after making their breakthroughs in New York. «I've thought about the parallels, but I don't go crazy,» said Andreescu ahead of meeting Raducanu for the first time on Tuesday. “It's just a really weird coincidence." Andreescu beat Serena Williams in the 2019 US Open final to deny the American a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.

Raducanu was 16 years old at the time and remembers watching the tournament. «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,» she said.

“I think that's really cool. And probably something I can learn from myself.” Rome diary: Raducanu's accidental swear, Swiatek's dilemma Raducanu 'managing' back issue ahead of Italian Open Andreescu reveals she was close to quitting tennis /> Raducanu has shown some promising signs over the last month as she won her first professional match on clay and also won two matches at both the Stuttgart Open and Madrid Open. She has been hampered by several injuries this year and is “managing” a back issue ahead of the