- Emma Raducanu, a British tennis player, raised eyebrows among football fans by wearing a Tottenham jersey during training
- Raducanu stated that she loves watching Harry Kane play though she doesn’t follow football much
- The British tennis star is set to head directly to the Stuttgart Open for practice despite a foot injury
Recently, Emma Raducanu shocked the north London football community by wearing a Tottenham shirt during her preparations for the Stuttgart Open.
It was a bold display of support from one of its most prominent footballers. Many have been left wondering where the top tennis players, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray stand.
Emma Raducanu suffered foot injury after clay training Photo: Sky Sports
In a video message announcing her withdrawal from last year’s Wimbledon during the Euros, the Bromley girl, who is a keen F1 fan, wore an England shirt.
And now, before her debut clay-court participation on the WTA Tour, she’s getting into football because of her physiotherapist Will Herbert and agent Chris Helliar, who are Tottenham supporters.
“My team are big Spurs fans, and I feel like they’re egging me on,” Raducanu said. “They’re desperately trying to get me behind them.
“I don’t necessarily follow football so much, but I feel like I have some connection now because of them.
“I loved following the Euros last year and watching Harry Kane, the England captain, and (Heung-min) Son; I’m a big fan of his. So yeah, I like to dabble.” Herbert later wrote on social media: @spursofficial. Our work is done.”
Raducanu defeated Tereza Martincova 7-5 7-5 in her senior clay debut at the Billie Jean King Cup last week.
However, in a later round, she was affected by foot blisters against former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova.
Nonetheless, the 19-year-old will head directly to the Stuttgart Open after encouraging supporters by returning to practice despite foot pain.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC (ACMILLAN)
Novak Djokovic. Photo/Sky Sports
Although the Serb has liked Manchester United in the past, the overwhelming evidence leads to AC Milan.
Novak Djokovic has previously visited the San Siro and has shown his support for the Rossoneri on social media.
“I’m a big fan of Milan, and I’ll always be,”he said, “For me, football is second only to tennis. My father was a professional footballer, and at home, we always watch the Rossoneri’s games with great interest.”
RAFAEL NADAL (REAL MADRID)
Nadal, a Mallorca native, has displayed flashes of affection for his hometown team, RCD Mallorca while gushing lyrically about Real Madrid on other occasions.
Even though the Spaniard’s uncle formerly played for Barcelona, Los Blancos president Florentino Perez claimed that the 21-time Grand Slam winner would be a “magnificent choice” to replace him one day.
“You never know what will happen; everybody knows that I love football, and Real Madrid is my team,” said Nadal, “Talking about that now is a bit of a utopia, but if you ask me, I would like to be president.
ROGER FEDERER (FC BASEL)
The 40-year-old tennis legend was born in Basel and is a huge supporter of FC Basel, the city’s football team. Since he was a child, he has been a fan of theirs and attends their games whenever he can.
Between 2010 and 2017, the squad won eight championships in succession.
Young Boys have won the last four Swiss league titles, but it appears that their arch-rivals FC Zürich will win it this year.
Roger Federer, who has legendary status in Switzerland, is likely to join the board of directors of FC Basel after he retires from tennis to pursue a career in football. Sports are something that some individuals can’t get enough of.
ANDY MURRAY (ARSENAL)
Andy Murray supports Arsenal and Hibernian FC. Photo: The Telegraph
Andy Murray is most known for appearing in two Grand Slam finals and winning four Master’s Series titles.
With his eight grand slam championships, he is only second to Fred Perry as the greatest British tennis player of all time.
Andy Murray comes from a family where football is ingrained in their DNA. Roy Erskine, his grandfather, was a professional football player in the late 1950s.
Murray supports the Hibernian Football Club, which he played for. He also supports Arsenal FC in addition to Hibernian.
The connections across diverse worlds in sports are pretty strong and far-reaching, as evidenced by this list of players.
Many of these tennis players have football-playing family members, and some have even done it themselves on some occasions.
It’s beautiful to see such unity among teams and individuals from many sections of the sport.
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