Tennis fans rejoice! Earlier this week, the Australian Open returned to our screens with a stellar line-up.
Among those battling it out in the Singles are a plethora of hopeful Brits including the likes of Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Harriet Dart.
Also battling it out on the blue courts are Emma Raducanu, 22, and Jack Draper, 23, who are both through to the second round after their triumphant wins against 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and Mariano Navone respectively.
As the sporting action continues to unfold, join HELLO! as we take a closer look at Emma and Jack's close bond…
Having each other's backs
The pair are friends both on and off the court. Having spent years in the same circle, it's perhaps no surprise that Emma and Jack have forged a close friendship. They were born less than a year apart and took part in many of the same tournaments and both trained at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
Reflecting on their mutual support for one another, Jack told The Times: "She has always been there for me. I've always been there for her. She's extremely bubbly, very kind, very thoughtful, always giggling, really smart. A really, really, really good girl."
Last year, Jack also revealed that his impressive stint at the US Open, where he reached the final, was in part prompted by Emma's history-making win in the same tournament back in 2021. "What Emma did was obviously incredibly inspiring," he told reporters at the time. "I've known her from a young age, and to see what she did was incredible.
"I was very proud of her, very excited. Obviously, we've watched the likes of Andy Murray winning a Grand Slam from Great Britain, but her winning, it was just really a fairy-tale run." He added: "I definitely think as a competitor, it fuelled my fire. I really wanted to achieve what she’d done, winning a Grand Slam."
Meanwhile, during an interview with The Telegraph in 2022, Jack shared a glimpse inside their training schedule and described Emma as "a great girl". Opening up, he shared: "We have similar age groups. So we've been playing the same tournaments – your Orange Bowls [in Miami], your Eddie Herr Invitationals [just up the road in Bradenton]. And Emma has trained here in the past a fair bit as well. She's a great girl, a great person."
Jack's defence of Emma
Jack was quick to defend Emma after she received criticism from tennis star, Martina Navratilova. When Emma was beaten in the first round of the 2024 US Open, the Czech-American former tennis player, 68, told Sky Sports Tennis: "Technically she is great, but she needs more matchplay. I still don't think she is as fit as she should be" before adding: "Emma needs to be in charge and she's old enough to know what she should be doing - surround herself with good people and then trust in them, and give it time so that you can see the results."
At the time, Jack backed Emma, saying that people needed to let her continue on her journey. "There's no doubt it was extremely difficult for Emma, because she's done her A Levels and she'd just come out of school," he added. "All of a sudden she came here and she had a dream run and won. I think the expectation on her after that was huge."
Find out more about the British No 2 in the video below...
What has Emma said about Jack?
Emma has been full of praise for Jack. In a joint interview with The Times, she described the British No 1 as "very driven," and "hard-working". Reflecting on his performance at a previous tournament, she said: "He had an unbelievable week at Queen's which showed how good his level really is. I know he's hard-working, he's always in the National Tennis Centre [at Roehampton] for long days. He's got a big game that can knock the racket out of the opponent's hands."
A lasting friendship
Despite their public support for one another, there has been no indication that the pair are romantically linked. According to reports, Emma and her beau Carlo Agostinelli called it quits after a year of dating back in the summer of 2024. While they haven't spoken about their split, Emma chose to unfollow Carlo on social media.
Jack is currently thought to be single. He's previously spoken about the reality of dating in the world of sport, explaining that it can be "tough to sustain any sort of relationship" in the world of professional tennis.