Nick Kyrgios sends an uplifting message to Emma Raducanu after she makes winning start at Wimbledon

British tennis star Emma Raducanu returned to Centre Court with a commanding win in her opening match at Wimbledon 2025. She defeated fellow Brit Mingge Xu in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the second round.

Shortly after the match, Raducanu uploaded a series of photos of herself on the grass court. She captioned the post:

“monday @wimbledon 🪽🍓”

Her performance drew praise from fellow pros, including Aussie maverick Nick Kyrgios, who commented:

“1 Down,” he wrote.

While the Australian himself is not competing in this year’s Wimbledon, Kyrgios is keeping tabs on some of his favorites, and it seems Raducanu is among them.

Nick Kyrgios understands Emma Raducanu who is struggling to get back on top

Emma Raducanu stunned many when the 18-year-old went on to become the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam title. She achieved this feat after winning the 2021 US Open.

Since then, she has struggled to get back on top. Apart from struggling with court performances, injuries have also hampered her career in the last four years.

No one can understand Raducanu’s situation better than Nick Kyrgios, who has gone through something similar. Despite having all the talent in the world, the Australian star’s trophy cabinet is without a Grand Slam title. His best performance came in 2022 when he reached the finals of the Wimbledon Championship.

“My heart does go out to her,” Kyrgios said of Raducanu via talkSPORT. “I look at that run, I was watching it on TV, she was smiling and enjoying her tennis so much and that whole two weeks for her was an incredible journey and she then won the US Open.

“But since then, I’ve seen her kind of enjoy her tennis, but I’ve never really seen her smile and really enjoy it as she did when she won the tournament.”

Kyrgios also touched upon the topic of social media scrutiny and how sometimes it can get into the head of young prodigies. He mentioned Emma Raducanu might have been a victim of it.

“It’s very hard, the one solution is to maybe not manage your accounts, but these days these athletes have so much going on that you have to be in touch with it as well. It really is hard, for someone like Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu, who won a Grand Slam at a young age.

“And what comes with that is a lot of sponsorships, a lot of brand deals, but also a lot of crazy people. Stalkers, people that are betting on her… it’s a lot for her to have on her shoulders in this day and age.”

Emma Raducanu might not have made it past the Round of 16 in the Eastbourne Open, but she is committed to making it to the end at Wimbledon. Her next opponent in the second round is 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.