Meet Emma Raducanu's boyfriend, John Friend, the PR exec quietly in her corner
Emma Raducanu's boyfriend is John Friend, a 32-year-old British PR executive and director of his own London-based communications firm. The pair went public in June 2026, photographed together in Battersea Park just hours after Raducanu's defeat in the Queen's Club final. For a tennis star who guards her private life carefully, their very public outing turned heads, and fans were entirely here for it.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- John Friend, 32, is Emma Raducanu's confirmed boyfriend as of June 2026.
- Friend is the director of London-based PR firm JSGF Analytics Ltd, incorporated in 2018.
- The pair were first photographed together in Battersea Park, South West London, after the Queen's Club final.
- Friend attended Harrow School and previously served in the British Army as a paratrooper.
- Raducanu and Friend have a nearly nine-year age gap.
Profile summary
Full name | John Friend |
Date of birth | April 1994 |
Age | 32 |
Nationality | British |
Education | Harrow School, London |
Occupation | PR executive; Director, JSGF Analytics Ltd |
Previous career | British Army paratrooper |
Based in | London, England |
Relationship | Emma Raducanu's boyfriend (confirmed June 2026) |
Private account |
Who is John Friend?
Friend attended the elite, private Harrow School in London and then joined the army as a paratrooper before leaving to work in corporate communications. It is an unusually varied CV, from one of Britain's most prestigious schools to active military service, then the polished world of public relations.
His career in PR
Friend is listed as the owner and director of the London-based public relations and communications firm JSGF, a name that matches his initials.
According to Companies House records, JSGF Analytics Ltd has been active since Friend was appointed director on 30 April 2018.
The tennis connection
Friend's father is a committee member at Queen's Club, the venue where Raducanu recently reached the singles final, and they were first pictured together shortly after the tennis star's defeat. Friend's father is a member of the Queen's Club Real Tennis committee, Real Tennis being considered the predecessor to lawn tennis.
Family tragedies
Friend has endured profound personal loss in recent years. Tragically, his brother Will was struck by lightning on a boat trip in North Carolina in 2022 and died at the age of 33. Will had been married to Hollywood actress Bevin Prince, who starred in One Tree Hill. Reports also say Friend lost his mother, Antoinette, to breast cancer in 2018, and his other older brother, Tom, in 2024, also at the age of 33.
How did Emma Raducanu and John Friend meet?
While it has not been confirmed exactly how Raducanu and her new boyfriend met, their circles overlap in the tennis world. That shared world, with Raducanu competing at Queen's Club and Friend's father sitting on the club's committee, offers the most plausible path to one another.
A reporter from The Scottish Sun noticed Raducanu enjoying a relaxed outing with her boyfriend. The pair were spotted walking a dog together before sitting on a park bench, where they were seen chatting, holding hands, laughing, and sharing a kiss.
Neither Raducanu nor Friend has publicly commented on the photographs.
An observer who witnessed the outing in Battersea Park told The Scottish Sun:
Emma and her man looked like they didn't have a care in the world as they meandered through the crowds. They looked besotted with one another. Any disappointment looked like it had evaporated as they cuddled. They certainly didn't seem to be self-conscious of being together and affectionate, and there were plenty of other people around.
What is Emma Raducanu and John Friend's age gap?
The couple have an age gap of nearly nine years. Raducanu is 23 years old, and Friend is 32. On Instagram, Raducanu follows a private account in the name of John Friend.
Emma Raducanu's relationship history
Friend is only the second man Raducanu has been publicly linked with. Raducanu's relationship with Carlo Agostinelli, son of American billionaire Roberto Agostinelli, began in May 2023 but ended in June 2024.
She is said to have begun dating Carlo Agostinelli, a former head boy at Harrow and Tottenham Hotspur development player, in May 2023. The pair later appeared arm in arm at that year's Paris Fashion Week. She later removed their photos from social media.
Raducanu has also been the subject of persistent speculation linking her to Carlos Alcaraz. British number one Emma Raducanu refused to be drawn on rumours of a relationship with French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz. She put the matter firmly to rest in a press conference, telling reporters, "We're just good friends."
About Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu was born on 13 November 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is 5 ft 7 in tall and is again working with Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to the 2021 US Open title. Raducanu was the 2021 US Open champion, becoming the first British woman to win a singles major since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. With that victory, she became the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a singles major title, achieved without dropping a set.
She currently has approximately 2.93 million Instagram followers on her official @emmaraducanu account.
Latest news: Wimbledon withdrawal and recovery
Source: Getty Images
Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon 2026 on the eve of the opening round, having been managing a recurring right leg injury since the end of the clay court season. A scan on 28 June revealed a stress fracture in her lower right leg.
Raducanu posted on Instagram:
"I've done everything possible to try to get to the start line tomorrow, but after a final scan tonight, the niggle I've been managing has developed into a stress fracture. I've been medically advised to stop pushing through.
Raducanu had been dealing with what she described as a "niggle" in her lower leg since reaching the final at the HSBC Championships at the Queen's Club, her second final on the WTA Tour this year.
Despite the Wimbledon blow, Raducanu spoke with quiet resolve about the people supporting her. Talking to ESPN ahead of the withdrawal, she said:
I had a great week at Queen's. All I want to do is to keep building on that momentum. I have great people around me. I think that's one thing that's really been helping in this latest setback.
Emma Raducanu's net worth
Emma Raducanu's net worth is estimated at around $15 million as of 2026, a figure that is almost entirely the product of a fortnight in September 2021 and the commercial explosion that followed.
Her main income streams include:
- Prize money: Total career prize money stands at approximately $6,562,478 through mid-2026, according to official WTA Tour statistics. Her single biggest payday remains the $2.5 million she earned for winning the 2021 US Open.
- Endorsements: She represents Nike for clothes and shoes, Wilson for racquets, Porsche as a brand ambassador, Dior for fashion and beauty, and Tiffany & Co.
- Private company: The bulk of her wealth also flows through her private company, Harbour 6 Ltd, which posted profits of roughly £5 million in a single year.
FAQs
- Who is Emma Raducanu in a relationship with? Emma Raducanu is in a relationship with John Friend, a 32-year-old British PR executive and director of London-based firm JSGF Analytics Ltd.
- Who is John Friend? John Friend is a British PR professional born in April 1994. He attended Harrow School, served in the British Army as a paratrooper, and now runs his own communications firm, JSGF.
- How did Emma Raducanu and John Friend meet? The exact circumstances have not been confirmed, but their social worlds overlap through Queen's Club, where Friend's father sits on the Real Tennis committee.
- What is John Friend doing now? Friend is active as director of JSGF Analytics Ltd, his London-based PR and communications firm.
- How old is Emma Raducanu's boyfriend? John Friend is 32 years old, nearly nine years older than Raducanu.
- Did Emma Raducanu date Carlos Alcaraz? No. Both have firmly denied any romantic relationship, with Raducanu publicly stating they are "just good friends".
- Why did Emma Raducanu miss Wimbledon 2026? Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon 2026 after a scan confirmed a stress fracture in her lower right leg.
- What is Emma Raducanu's net worth? Raducanu's net worth is estimated between $8 million and $15 million in 2026, driven largely by the endorsement deals that followed her 2021 US Open win.
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Source: Legit.ng
