Emma Raducanu makes feelings known on her mother joining her at Singapore Open ahead of Chinese New Year

Emma Raducanu will be one of the WTA stars headlining this year's Singapore Open. The Brit spoke about her Asian roots ahead of the 250-level event while rejoicing at her mother Zhai Renee being in Singapore to support her.

Raducanu had a respectable campaign at the recently concluded Australian Open. Despite being unseeded, the 22-year-old reached the third round, losing 1-6, 0-6 to second-seeded Iga Swiatek.

Emma Raducanu now has a chance to do well at the 2025 Singapore Open, which has begun this week. Speaking to ESPN, the former World No. 10 expressed excitement at being in the city during the Chinese New Year. She also spared a word for her mother traveling with her to the tournament.

"I'm extremely excited to be in Singapore. It's one of my favorite places in the world, so it means a lot that there's a tennis tournament here," Emma Raducanu told ESPN. "It's nice to be in Asia over Chinese New Year. I have my mom here as well with me, which is a really nice addition."

The World No. 56 also spared a word for her Asian fans while speaking brightly about her 2022 experience in the city.

"Every time I've been here before, I've had amazing love, amazing support from people at the tennis club, and I'm just excited to get on the match court here and get started," she said.

"I think the affinity with Singapore came about because, I think in 2022, I came back from Australia [after the Australian Open] and I'd always wanted to go to Singapore because I feel like it's the perfect fusion between East and West," she added.

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Emma Raducanu on her Singapore connection: "I feel it represents me because of Mandarin and English"

Emma Raducanu prepares to hit a forehand (Source: Getty)

Emma Raducanu has a diverse background; while her father and mother are Romanian and Chinese, respectively, she was born and brought up in the United Kingdom. She admittedly felt that Singapore "represented" her and revealed that her best friend was from the city.

"I feel it represents me a lot because [two of] the languages here -- Mandarin, as well as English -- I can use both," Raducanu said in the same interview. "My best friend actually is [from] Singapore and she's back for the Chinese New Year holidays."

Raducanu is on a mission to return to the top rungs of women's tennis. The 22-year-old's comeback from wrist and ankle injuries last year was successful, as she jumped from being ranked outside the top 250 to a year-end ranking of 58.