James claimed that Raducanu appeared to “stall for time” by repeating the interviewer’s question about Alcaraz, but “the way the coy smile spread across her face as she rattled off their history together” and how she touched her hair, was similar to a “fan-girl” reaction.

The theory that the BBC described as “melting tennis social media last week” came about after the U.S. Open announced the mixed doubles pairs — which also includes the all-American pair of old friends Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe and current tennis couple Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa — on June 17.

British tennis star Emma Raducanu was all smiles when asked about fans who are shipping a romance between her and top seed Carlos Alcaraz on social media.