While the tennis world obsesses over rankings and draw sheets, Emma Raducanu is quietly reminding everyone that she’s still only 23. Spotted yesterday in the West Village, the 2021 US Open champion traded Centre Court whites for an effortlessly cool off-duty uniform: oversized chocolate-brown leather jacket, lime-green top, gold necklace catching the afternoon light, and that megawatt smile that first won the planet four years ago.
Seated under the iconic black-and-white striped awning of Via Carota (the perpetually packed Italian spot beloved by Taylor Swift and the entire fashion crowd), Emma shared a sun-dappled lunch with her boyfriend, Carlo Agostinelli. The pair looked like they’d stepped straight out of a Nancy Meyers movie: relaxed, laughing, stealing bites of what appears to be the restaurant’s famous chocolate budino. Carlo, in a navy cap and black sweater, kept one affectionate hand on the table near hers; Emma, phone momentarily forgotten, radiated the kind of unforced happiness you rarely see during a grueling season.
This is the Raducanu the tabloids don’t always capture: the one who rides the London Tube without security, who still calls Bromley home, who can disappear into a New York sidewalk crowd when she’s not slicing backhands at 80 mph. After a 2025 season that finally saw her healthy and dangerous again (Miami quarterfinal, Top 30 re-entry, grass-court semifinal in Washington), the off-season has clearly been about recharging the soul as much as the body.
Sources close to her camp say she’s spending December splitting time between London and NYC, training lightly with new coach Francisco Roig, seeing friends, and yes, eating very well. Yesterday’s lunch comes just days after she was photographed strolling Soho in baggy jeans and Nike kicks, AirPods in, iced coffee in hand, looking every bit the college student she never got to be.
Fans flooded the comments the moment the photo hit Instagram stories:
“Protect this happiness at all costs 😭❤️” “NYC looks good on her, bring that energy to Australian Open queen” “Soft launch of the boyfriend + chocolate dessert = peak 2025 Emma”
With the new season kicking off in less than three weeks at the United Cup, Raducanu seems to be sending a quiet message: she’s stronger, happier, and more herself than ever. And if stealing a quiet afternoon in the West Village with someone who makes her laugh this hard is part of the preparation, we’re all for it.
The forehand is back. The injuries are (finally) in the rear-view. And the smile? Brighter than ever.
2026, do your worst. Emma Raducanu is ready, and she’s doing it on her own terms.
