Emma Raducanu had an eventful day at the 2026 HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club as she reached the final but ultimately fell short against Donna Vekic. The Brit also found herself at the center of controversy after an animated exchange with her coach during the match, a moment that did not sit well with many fans.
After a mixed season so far and a disappointing first-round exit at the French Open, Raducanu arrived at Queen’s looking to kick-start her grasscourt campaign. She put together an impressive run, defeating Anna Blinkova, 17th seed Sorana Cirstea, Kamilla Rakhimova, and sixth seed Iva Jovic before eventually losing to Vekic 0-6, 6-7(6) in Sunday’s final.
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During the match, Emma Raducanu appeared visibly frustrated and, early in the second set after dropping six straight games and coming close to losing a seventh, directed an animated remark towards her player box, where coach Andrew Richardson was seated. The pair reunited last month, with Richardson returning as her head coach after previously guiding Raducanu to her historic US Open triumph in 2021.
Many fans were unimpressed by the 23-year-old’s reaction and took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their thoughts, with one user writing:
“Blames everyone but herself, how many more coaches is she going to have,needs to take a good look at herself.”
“Emma should stop showing this insecure behaviour and should learn to read a match by now. She actually needs a lot of counselling and support to deal with the technical and tactical issues in a match,” another wrote.
“She needs to retire and take up chess. She’s an embarrassment and pathetic. She won’t win anything again in tennis,” one user posted.
“What makes me laugh is that she’s the British No.1 having barely completed a tournament in five years..what does it say about the rest of the seedings,” another tweeted.
“You’re the one on the court not your coach. They prep and train you for these matches but it’s solely about you to deliver. This spoilt entitled little brat, needs to have a public dressing down,” one fan commented.
“Dont understand these days how you become so famous & rich by being bang average at your proffesion. And to behave that way too,” another joined in.
Emma Raducanu: “It’s been an incredible week for me”
Emma Raducanu delivered a heartfelt speech after receiving the runners-up trophy at the 2026 HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club. Reflecting on her run to the final, the Brit said she had enjoyed an incredible week and expressed her gratitude to the fans for their unwavering support throughout the tournament.
Raducanu said:
“It’s been an incredible week for me making the final here, playing in my home tournament where I feel the best. The support I received all week has been incredible. I really wanna take this opportunity to thank everyone.”
The former US Open champion also made sure to congratulate Donna Vekic on her title-winning run, praising the Croatian for her performance in the final:
“Today was a really tough match. Donna played extremely well from start to finish. Thanks for getting me through some tough moments this week and also helping me push back in that 2nd set. Of course I’d like to congratulate Donna. What a week for you. From qualifying all the way to the title.. you played really well, so all the best.”
Next up for Emma Raducanu is the Nottingham Open, where she is seeded 10th and is set to begin her campaign against Karolina Pliskova.
Edited by Pritha Ghosh