Emma Raducanu doesn’t need a racket, a forehand, or even a court to set the conversation moving. One photo was enough this weekend — a casual snap at Twickenham — and suddenly half of Britain was dusting off its favourite hobby: guessing who she might be dating.
The 21-year-old was at England’s 33–19 win over New Zealand, taking in the rugby with actress Simone Ashley. Hovering just behind her, a male companion edged into the picture. The tabloids wasted no time christening him as Jack Coman, a New Zealander, and once the pair appeared together on Instagram, the speculation obligingly reignited.
For Raducanu, this is hardly new terrain. She keeps her private life in a tighter lockdown than most public figures manage, yet the scrutiny follows her regardless. She’s admitted before that fame comes with its own weather system — and rumour is the inevitable drizzle.
Old Rumours, New Echoes
It wasn’t so long ago that the chatter fixated on Carlos Alcaraz. Their mixed doubles outing at the US Open had barely been announced before imaginations raced ahead. The pair were seen together during the grass season, cheering each other on, and the narrative inflated well beyond anything happening on court.
“We are just good friends,” she said at Wimbledon, dispatching the question with the same efficiency she once showed on return of serve. It wasn’t even the first time that fortnight she’d had to swat the theory away.
“I’ve known him for years — Wimbledon 2021 was the first time I got to know him better, and I had a good run there and again at the 2021 US Open,” Raducanu said earlier. “We still have a good relationship. He’s obviously gone way past me, but it’s nice that we’ve had that for a while. I think for all of us, those connections from when you’re younger are really valuable… the ones you’ve known for a long time mean a lot more.”
Their US Open mixed campaign fizzled out in round one, beaten by Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula, but the friendship held steady. Two planned exhibitions in New Jersey and Miami have since been scrapped after Raducanu withdrew with a minor injury — another reminder that, for her, the main thread of the story is still tennis.
And that remains the point. The curiosity around her will linger, however sharply she tries to separate the personal from the professional. One photo may set the rumours alight, but the chapter she’s intent on writing — the one that matters — lies on court, not in the comments section beneath an Instagram post.