Emma Raducanu has ruled out studying at Oxford University for now following her run into the last 16 at Wimbledon but would like to do so in the future.
The British No. 3, 21, was defeated by New Zealand qualifier and world No 123 Lulu Sun, 23, to become the last British singles player to be knocked out of Wimbledon.
She lost 6–2, 5-7, 6-2 on Centre Court in front of a star-studded Royal Box.
Ahead of the Championships, she was pictured in the main quad of Corpus Christi College of the famous university.
Her friend and fellow British tennis star Fran Jones, 23, said Raducanu had her sights set on studying there after she spent a day touring Oxford’s colleges with her.
Following her run at Wimbledon, the Daily Express asked the star if she planned to push back any decision to study at Oxford.
Raducanu said: “I mean, I wish (laughter). I don’t know. That’s taken me by surprise.
“I’m very much focused on my professional tennis career. Once that’s over maybe or once I have more disposition or more time, that’s for sure something I would love to explore. For now I’m very much focused on the tennis.”
She shared images of her time at Oxford which she visited in between the grass-court events at Nottingham and Eastbourne, on her Instagram page.
Raducanu also was pictured on punts travelling down the River Cherwell.
Asked about the day out on Friday, Raducanu explained: “We’re both pretty academic, I would say, so we have a vision for the future. And Oxford is definitely something that we would both enjoy.
“Tennis is consuming and it’s important that you can have that vision for your career afterwards, and sometimes keeping in touch with it. And so I think that’s what we were doing. Having an in-touch day with our post-tennis career, which is important to try and keep alive.
“Because we live in a bubble, it’s healthy to have that vision. So that when you do come back in here [at Wimbledon, where Jones is preparing for a first-round meeting with Croatia’s Petra Martic], you’re ready to go again, instead of everything else being drowned out.”