Emma Raducanu’s next opponent from football family with World Cup star | Tennis | Sport

0


Emma Raducanu is set to make her first WTA Tour appearance of 2026 at the Hobart International, where she will face Camila Osorio on Tuesday. Osorio, 24, is currently ranked 85 in the world and comes from a family steeped in football heritage. Her grandfather, Rolando Serrano, represented the Colombian national football team. Serrano played in the 1962 World Cup and at the 1960 European Championships.

Osorio’s father, Carlos, played for Deportes Quindio domestically, while her brother, Sebastian, also played football at a professional level. He turned out for Fortaleza CEIF in Colombia’s Primera B division. Such is Osorio’s fervent love for football that it’s believed her two dogs are also named after footballing icons Messi and Neymar. While the tennis star’s mother didn’t pursue a career in football, she did forge one in basketball, keeping the family’s connection to sport strong.

Osorio was a world No. 1 ITF Junior and won the US Open girls’ singles title in 2019. She will now present a stern test for Raducanu.

The British No.1 made her return to competitive tennis, representing her country at The United Cup against Greece last week, after an injury cut short her 2025 season in October.

Raducanu said her three-set defeat to Maria Sakkari at the United Cup required a lot of energy. Discussing her 6-3 3-6 6-1 loss in Perth she said: “I am pretty happy with how I was able to play a match of three sets.

“Considering I played five or six games in practice, it’s a big effort for me. It’s been a good two and a bit months where I didn’t play. It’s been difficult to kind of increase the load and add the unpredictability of the tennis.

“I think today, being able to produce that, having not played, is just giving me confidence to what I can do when I do practice more. Initially you feel a little bit alien on the court, in the first set, just playing points again. “I know now I just need to get my head down, keep working.”

Attention will now turn to preparation for the Australian Open, which begins on January 18 in Melbourne. Raducanu, however, is taking each day as it comes and not looking to heap pressure on herself as the season’s first Grand Slam approaches.

“It’s been a long break for everyone,” she said. “I think you have to just take it as it comes. I went to Barcelona for two weeks, but wasn’t really able to play. Just got a lot of gym where I could, then started static hitting.

“I kind of played my first points two days ago in practice. It’s been a very fast run path. I just need to keep going. The season is still very, very young. Week one. There’s a long way to go.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here