Emma Raducanu was not practicing, but she was first able to make a Mexican wave. After that, she was able to address the crowd in her native Romanian.
The US Open champion was already causing enough excitement in these parts since arriving — via budget airline on Friday night — and those at the BT Arena were further seduced when she took the microphone after yesterday’s hitting session.
‘The thing is I can understand like 80 per cent of Romanian,’ she said, having told the assembly how pleased she was to be here.
British No 1 Emma Raducanu impressed the crowd during practice in her native Romania
‘I don’t want to big myself up, I just really struggle to find my words. When I got told about doing this thing at the end of practice, at the changeovers I was just thinking of my vocab.’
Having displayed her talent for speaking her mother’s native tongue of Mandarin in New York, it is no surprise that, despite being just 18, she can reel off another language.
Her father Ian and childhood visits to Niculina’s house are the two that connect her.
Niculina will not be able to see her multi-talented granddaughter as she makes the long journey north from the capital.
Raducanu will return to action against Polona Shecog, a veteran from Slovenia, on Tuesday
Not only that but Covid restrictions introduced today in response to Europe’s fastest-rising case numbers mean no spectators will be allowed in from now on.
Raducanu still plans to see Niculina, but not until the week’s business is over.
‘I will definitely visit her after the tournament. I haven’t seen her for two-and-a-half years,’ said Raducanu, who is expected to play tomorrow against Slovenian veteran Polona Hercog.
‘I used to come once or twice a year to visit my grandmother in Bucharest. I love coming back. The people are really friendly, there’s also great food.
‘My personal favourite is sarmale (Romanian cabbage rolls). When I come back my grandma makes it, at home it is not the same.’
Ian will be watching his daughter play live for the first-time since Wimbledon.
He was in the stadium this weekend while keeping a low profile. His daughter seems more relaxed about her coaching situation that outsiders.
He melted into the crowd and was polite, friendly, and he looked on, but declined to give interviews to any local media.
Although he has never been to Cluj before, this is a very special homecoming for him. It has been 25 years since he left Bucharest to Toronto, where he spent eight years. He then moved on to London when his daughter turned two.
Raducanu is currently ranked 24th, following her heroics at the US Open in September
While he is happy to leave the attention to her, he is the central figure in her career and in no rush to appoint one particular voice to supervise his daughter’s training.
Emma confirmed that she had been participating in trial sessions with Esteban Carril, but said that other options were also being considered. Carril will not be here this week. Instead, he will be attending a small event in Estonia together with Katie Swan, a fellow Brit, who had previously signed a travel agreement.
Asked who was coaching her this week, Raducanu said simply ‘myself’. She knows that there is no substitute for self-sufficiency, adding: ‘You are out there on the court on your own, so it’s great to be independent. You have the ability to coach yourself. In the long term, if you keep doing that you will be better in situations.’
Similar to the previous theme, she decided to forgo the luxury of a private jet in order to travel to a remote area with few easy routes and instead took WizzAir from Luton Airport. She was able to avoid the half-term crowds and got a VIP passage through departures to her aircraft.
This relatively intimate £180,000 event ought to be more comfortable for her than the much bigger tournament at Indian Wells which saw her lose in the first round on her reappearance after the US Open.
There is some consolation that the player who beat her, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, went on to defeat this week’s top seed, Simona Halep.
‘I didn’t have much expectations going into Indian Wells,’ reasoned Raducanu. ‘My reflection on the performance was that I was quite tired and I think I was still a bit jetlagged. If you’re not in top form, it’s impossible to handle the challenge.
‘Sasnovich ended up having a good tournament herself. Now I have had a good training week at home, so I am looking forward to this last swing of the season.’