Emma Raducanu reveals her ultimate travel tips for the destinations she has visited as a tennis pro

Here are a few ace travel tips.

British professional tennis player Emma Raducanu has revealed her recommendations for helping to feel a sense of belonging while abroad, reflecting on her own experiences in moving around the world for work.

In a new video, the sportswoman, 20, recommends trying a ‘flagel’ in New York, noting: ‘I didn’t know what it was before, but it’s just a squashed bagel.’

She also shares her top tip for a stay in the ‘futuristic’ city of Dubai – make sure you have access to air conditioning, she says. ’That’s a big one for me,’ she adds.

During a sojourn in Melbourne, she recommends checking out the city’s street art and graffiti, while the food culture takes centre stage in Singapore, with Emma revealing: ‘My personal favourite [dish there] is black pepper crab.’

British professional tennis player Emma Raducanu has revealed her tips for helping to feel a sense of belonging while abroad

Emma recommends trying a ‘flagel’ in New York, noting: ‘I didn’t know what it was before but it’s just a squashed bagel’

Her tips for time spent in London? Emma says: ‘If you’ve just arrived in London and want to feel like you belong I would say [interact] with the locals.

‘They might look like they’re on a mad one in a rush, especially around the train stations… but actually, once you get into conversations, everyone is so friendly here and the chat and banter is really, really good… so just get involved.’

The tennis ace also shares her recommendations for a jaunt to the Chinese city of Shenyang, where her mother’s family originates from.

She admits that she loves the city’s underground market stalls, where you can shop for everything from purses to hair clips and hair brushes. Emma reveals that you can bargain with the stall owners too, and teaches viewers how to say ‘can I get a deal’ in Mandarin. 

In making the video, Emma reflected on her own experiences while moving around the globe for work. She’s pictured above in New York 

Emma recommends that you have access to air conditioning in Dubai. ’That’s a big one for me,’ she says

If you’re planning a move to Melbourne, Emma suggests checking out the city’s street art

Emma says: ‘If you’ve just arrived in London and want to feel like you belong I would say [interact] with the locals’

The video was launched as part of Emma’s new collaboration with HSBC on the launch of the Unforeign Exchange, a new online resource featuring insights on moving abroad from celebrities, influencers, and HSBC employees.

The bank recently conducted research on the experiences of those that live, work or study abroad and found that it takes an average of eight months for a new international location to feel like home.

The survey of over 7,000 international citizens also revealed that over a quarter (28 per cent) of expats that were travelling solo took over a year to feel at home, compared to a fifth (21 per cent) who were travelling with a loved one to their new location.

The top ways to settle into a new life abroad include socialising with locals (32 per cent), embracing local culture (27 per cent) and business networking (25 per cent).

Emma says the food scene in Singapore, pictured, is a standout

The tennis pro enjoying black pepper crab in Singapore, her favourite dish there 

The video was launched as part of Emma’s new collaboration with HSBC on the launch of the Unforeign Exchange, an online resource featuring tips on moving abroad. She’s pictured above in Singapore 

Emma says that she loves the underground market stalls in the Chinese city of Shenyang

Emma playing in a tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier this year 

Digital nomads tend to feel settled significantly sooner than solo expats, the research revealed, with over half (55 per cent) of respondents saying they felt settled within six months, versus 45 per cent of solo expats.

Gen Zs, meanwhile, are less likely to feel like they belong in their new location – just half (56 per cent) say this is the case, compared to three in five (70 per cent) respondents aged 35 to 64.

For current and past expats, expectations fell short – over a fifth (22 per cent) feel lonely, and the same (22 per cent) feel isolated. One in five (20 per cent) are homesick, 17 per cent feel like they don’t belong and the same percentage (17 per cent) say they have no friends.

The locations where respondents felt they settled fastest include the UAE and India, where respondents felt they settled in ‘almost instantly’ (40 per cent and 36 per cent respectively). The workplace has a key role in both locations, with business networking cited as a key factor that helps international citizens to settle (36 per cent in UAE and 22 per cent in India).

For over half (53 per cent), arranging important aspects in advance – such as sorting out their new phone deal or bank account – positively impacted their sense of feeling settled.