Carlos Alcaraz's difficult girlfriend problem and Emma Raducanu's 'boyfriend ban'
Carlos Alcaraz's difficult girlfriend problem and Emma Raducanu's 'boyfriend ban'
Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu are among the top tennis stars in the world, but their search for glory has had its setbacks in other departments
Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu have had problems with relationships
(Image: Tim Clayton, Corbis via Getty Images )
Life as an elite tennis player is not without its sacrifices.
While innate talent is undoubtedly essential for success, it alone cannot propel athletes to the pinnacle of their sport. The demands of rigorous training regimens can be all-consuming, leaving little time for leisure activities, nurturing relationships or simply spending time with loved ones.
And no one knows this better than Carlos Alcaraz. The 22-year-old has five Grand Slam titles under his belt as well as a world No. 2 ranking, and his dedication to his craft is evident.
However, his intense training schedule and constant travel have taken a toll on his personal life, particularly when it comes to romantic relationships. In an interview with The Sunday Times last year, Alcaraz said: "I am single. I am looking for someone. It can be difficult as a tennis player to meet the right person because you are travelling all the time."
He also echoed similar sentiments in a conversation with Vogue a year earlier, saying: "It's complicated, never staying in one place. It's hard to find the person who can share things with you if you're always in different parts of the world," reports the Express.
Whether Alcaraz's relationship status has changed since then remains unknown, but there have been no public reports linking him to anyone romantically as of late. Alcaraz is not alone in suggesting that the sport puts constraints on personal relationships.
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Emma Raducanu, who has signed up to play mixed doubles with Alcaraz at the US Open later this year, has shared how her parents once forbade her from having a boyfriend during her early career. Recounting her parents' strictures, Raducanu told The Times: "My parents were very much against [boyfriends] as it interfered with training. When I was younger, I wasn't even allowed to hang out with my girl friends. A lot of the time I was very resentful, but it made me very confident and comfortable in my own company."
Carlos Alcaraz has opened up about finding love as a tennis player
(Image: Getty )
In her adulthood, Raducanu briefly dated Carlo Agostinelli, taking their relationship public in 2023. Yet, by the following year, the romance had come to a conclusion, with The Sun claiming that their time together had "run its course".
Moreover, tennis veterans like Andy Murray have also experienced romantic complications due to the demands of the sport. Murray recently disclosed the significant influence his career had on his honeymoon with Kim Sears.
After their 2015 wedding at the beautiful Dunblane Cathedral, the couple scarcely managed to escape to Barcelona before sporting commitments came calling. Regretful over the brief honeymoon caused by an intensive training schedule, Murray told GQ: "When we got married, our honeymoon was in Barcelona, and I was doing a training block.
"Essentially, we got to spend a couple of nights with each other, but I was practising during the day, training and going to the gym and doing all my physio work. [A honeymoon] is very important for most couples.
Andy Murray has been married to Kim Sears since 2015
(Image: Getty )
"Maybe for her it was too, but she was willing to sacrifice that to allow me to chase my goals. She's super important to everything I achieved, so now I'm trying my best to make up for all that."
He added: "She's been a huge support and a massive, massive part of my career. When you're playing, you don't always appreciate that. I think a lot of individual athletes - me included - would be selfish at times. You think a lot about yourself and your own performance, and your mood is reflective of whether you've had a good match. Say, I won. I'm in a good mood. I lost, I'm in a bad mood.
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"It's not really fair on the people around you. But even at the end, when I was struggling physically and was not winning many matches, and we had young children, Kim was always so supportive of me continuing to play because she knew I loved the sport and loved playing."
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