Emma Raducanu insists she’s not superstitious but will keep on wearing the same trademark red outfit she has worn throughout the US Open so far.
The 18-year-old beat Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in straight sets yesterday to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows –– becoming just the first female qualifier in the Open Era to reach this stage of the competition.
Having not played tennis for 18 months due to the pandemic, Raducanu made her first major appearance at Wimbledon this year and has gone from strength to strength. At the start of 2021, she was barely within the world’s top 400, but after yesterday’s victory, she has surpassed the likes of Johanna Konta and Heather Watson to become British number one.
A hallmark of her US Open run has been her distinctive outfit, which consists of a navy skirt, red top and orange cap –– all made by Nike. The Brit has worn the same attire in each of her five main draw matches and it appears to be working.
Speaking in her post-match press conference, Raducanu was asked whether wearing the same outfit was a superstition –– to which she stressed that it was not the exact same set.
“It’s not the same set to be clear. But honestly, I really like the colour red and out of all the outfits that was my favourite one,” she said.
While the Brit confirmed her outfit choice had nothing to do with superstition, she did joke that she’s certainly not going to wear anything different in this competition at least.
“At this stage of the tournament, I’m not going to change anything.”
Remarkably, Raducanu is now just two games away from becoming a major champion. That being said, the teenager emphasised she is still taking every game as it comes and relishing the chance to play in front of such big crowds.
"Out there on the court today, I was saying to myself, 'This could be the last time you play on Ashe, so might as well just go for it and enjoy everything.”
And while the majority of the British public are now willing her to go all the way, Raducanu is not putting any extra pressure on herself.
"To compare yourself and your results against anyone is probably like the thief of happiness," she said.
"I mean, I didn't compete for 18 months, but here I am, and it just shows that if you believe in yourself, then anything is possible."
For now, the focus is on her semi-final against Greece’s Maria Sakkari, which is scheduled to start at 01:15 GMT on Friday morning.
The US Open is available to watch live exclusively on Amazon Prime Video from Monday 30th August through to Sunday 12 September.