The Grand Slam champion that Emma Raducanu said she really wanted to play but has since retired

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Emma Raducanu has lots of big names that she is yet to play on the WTA Tour as she is still only 22-years-old.

Raducanu won the US Open in 2021, as the only ever qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title.

Despite winning a major title on hard courts, Raducanu only recently beat Emma Navarro to get her first top 10 win on the surface.

Although she has only just obtained her first top 10 win on hard courts, Raducanu beat one of the greatest players of all time on the surface back in 2022.

Emma Raducanu really wanted to play Simona Halep before she retired

At the 2022 Cincinnati Open, Raducanu beat 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, 6-4 6-0, in one of the final tournaments of her career.

Raducanu appeared to be in awe of Williams as they shaked hands at the net, and was asked in her post-match press conference if there were any other players she really wanted to play.

There seemed to be an obvious answer to Raducanu, as she quickly named two-time major champion Simona Halep.

“I would say one person,” said Raducanu. “I would love to play Simona, just because I think she all around is like, for me, all around the most complete player.

“She moves extremely well. She’s aggressive. She can defend. She makes you work so hard for every point. Could be like a slow, painful, you know, like she gets you (smiling). But I think just to be able to feel that would be great.”

This was not the first time that Raducanu, who has a Romanian father, had heaped praise on the former world number one.

Before she had even made her WTA Tour debut in 2020, Raducanu told the LTA how she idolized both Halep and Asia’s first major winner, Li Na.

“I’ve got quite a few years ahead of me and I want to start playing how I want to picture myself in a couple of years,” Raducanu said in 2020, when she was 17-years-old.

“I want to be athletic like Halep. I feel like I’ve got quite a good base right now but a lot to improve on and also Li Na – I’m a massive fan of her game. She’s got such powerful strokes.

“She went for everything, and also, she was very athletic in a more aggressive way. I loved her mentality, she never complained. That’s something I aspire to be like.”

Raducanu has three times been one match away from playing her idol, but that can no longer happen after Halep retired last year following a doping ban and a persistent knee injury.

What did Simona Halep say about Emma Raducanu after she won the US Open?

One of the three times that Raducanu was a match away from playing Halep was at the Transylvania Open in 2021.

Both players reached the quarter-finals in Cluj, with Halep winning hers in convincing fashion to move one step closer and literally put the ball into Raducanu’s court.

However, Raducanu was unable to beat Marta Kostyuk and the Brit’s dream was put on hold.

It was at this tournament where Halep heaped praise on Raducanu, predicting her to reach the top 10 and become one of the best players in the world.

“What she achieved is unbelievable and it’s all credit to her because she played so well and she played so many matches,” said Raducanu. “I think her mentality was very strong and also her game. She played great tennis, very fast, very close to the baseline and I think the movement also was great.

“She has already won a Grand Slam title and I think she is able to achieve everything. She now has the experience of winning the biggest tournament in tennis.

“I think she can easily get into the top 10 sooner than everybody thinks because already she is close to that. Yeah, she has a bright future and for sure, she will be one of the best players in the world.”

Raducanu did reach the WTA top 10 in July 2022, but has struggled to maintain her form and fitness since then.

However, there have been some promising signs in recent weeks, after Raducanu reached the Miami Open quarter-finals.