Emma Raducanu has taken a significant stride in her recuperation from wrist and ankle surgeries, as she made her return to the practice court for the first time.
The 20-year-old had to skip both the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments due to surgeries on both of her wrists and one ankle, which were conducted in early May.
Although she has been undergoing rehabilitation in recent weeks, Raducanu achieved a significant milestone by resuming hitting practice at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton on Wednesday.
Raducanu shared her practice session on Instagram, where she was seen hitting the ball gently with a practice partner. She captioned the post with, “August 2nd, THE FUN PART. 1st time back on court.”
Due to persistent injuries that have followed her remarkable victory at the 2021 US Open, Raducanu will not be able to participate in the upcoming tournament at Flushing Meadows. Instead, her return is anticipated during the autumn period, potentially in the Asia or European indoor swing.
Emma Raducanu was bundled out of the Miami Open in the first round by form US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in a three-set match that lasted two hours and 35 minutes on Wednesday.
The Briton, who won the US Open in 2021, went down 6-3 3-6 6-2 in a genuine tug-of-war against the 31st-ranked Canadian.
Andreescu sent down seven aces for the match, including four in the first set along with 12 winners as she claimed an early lead.
Raducanu responded with greater aggression, securing the crucial break in the eighth game, before serving out to level the contest.
But Andreescu showed composure and quality in the big points in the final set, winning the final four games to round out the victory, sealing a second-round clash with seventh seed Maria Sakkari.
Andreescu finished with 32 winners compared to Raducanu’s 20, while the Briton committed 40 unforced errors.
World number 42 Shelby Rogers edged out USA compatriot Sloane Stephens in just under two hours, winning 6-4 3-6 6-2. Rogers will take on second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who is arguably the tournament favourite after top seed Iga Swiatek’s withdrawal, in the next round.
Rogers was one of five Americans to progress, including 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin who defeated Australia’s Storm Hunter 6-0 7-6 (7-5).
All about her business đź@leylahfernandez rolls past Tsurenko in straight-sets and will now face No.9 seed Bencic in Round 2 đ
World number 35 Amanda Anisimova retired down 7-6 (7-5) 5-2 to countrywoman Madison Brengle.
Leylah Fernandez, the player whom Raducanu beat in the 2021 US Open final, advanced into the second round with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Lesia Tsurenko in 88 minutes.
Emma Raducanu has pulled out of next month’s Billie Jean King Cup, citing a wrist injury.
The former US Open champion had been named as part of Great Britain’s team for the tournament, which will take place at Emirates Arena in Glasgow between November 8-13.
Raducanu was selected alongside Harriet Dart, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson, with a fifth member to be added at a later date, and made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in April’s qualifier against Czech Republic.
However, after pulling out of the Transylvania Open earlier this month with the same right-wrist issue, the 19-year-old confirmed on Friday she had been told by doctors she will not recover in time.
Sorry to hear that @emmaraducanu has been forced to withdraw from the @BJKCup Finals
“It’s disappointing to get the news from the doctors that I won’t be ready in time, particularly with it being on home soil,” Raducanu said.
“I tried to do everything possible to get it ready in time.
“Since my last tournament I’ve been working every day on physical training and rehab. I’ve got confidence in my team-mates and look forward to playing next year.”
Great Britain will be one of 12 teams participating in Scotland, and have been drawn in a group with Kazakhstan and Spain.
Emma Raducanu was forced to retire from her Korea Open semi-final against Jelena Ostapenko due to injury, leaving the Latvian to face second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in Sunday’s final.
The 2021 US Open winner was featuring in her first semi-final since that fairytale triumph at Flushing Meadows, and took the opening set 6-4 after making a flying start on Saturday.
Ostapenko then fought back to level the match, with Raducanu first appearing to struggle with her movement when she was a break up in the second, forcing her to take an off-court medical timeout.
The 19-year old later retired citing a left glute injury when 3-0 down in the decider, ending her confidence-boosting run in Seoul and teeing up a final meeting between the top two seeds.
Jelena Ostapenko advances to the Seoul final as Raducanu is forced to retire through injury.
Indeed, Alexandrova enjoyed a more routine outing in her meeting with Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria, downing the German 6-2 6-4 to advance to her second final of the year.
At the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, meanwhile, Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen reached her first WTA Tour final with a hard-fought win over world number 13 Veronika Kudermetova.
Having required over three hours to seal her 5-7 6-3 7-6 (7-3) triumph, the world number 36 said: “After the match when I won the last point, the feeling was incredible.
“The opponent, she’s playing unbelievable tennis. She has a really good serve and hits the ball hard, she moves well. It’s my first time in the final. I’m so happy.”
Her compatriot Zhang Shuai was unable to replicate those exploits, however, as Liudmila Samsonova eased into her third WTA final of the year with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win.
In-form Samsonova has won both of her previous final appearances this year – each of which came last month –Â and is 3-0 in showpiece matches for her career.
19yo Zheng Qinwen advances to her 1st tour-level final in Tokyo, defeating No.4 seed Veronika Kudermetova 57 63 76(3).
Zheng is the 2nd teenager to advance to the final of a WTA 500 or higher event this season (Gauff, RG F).
Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu is through to the semi-finals of the Korea Open after beating third seed Magda Linette 6-2 6-2 in Seoul.
It is the first time the 19-year-old has won three matches in a row since her run to the US Open title in 2021.
The British number one is yet to drop a set at the WTA tournament.
She will face top seed Jelena Ostapenko, who beat teenager Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-2 6-1, in order to reach the final.
Raducanu made a strong start, racing into a commanding 4-0 lead, and not dropping a point on her first serve as she easily won the opening set.
However, Poland’s Linette had three break points on Raducanu’s first service game in the second set.
But the former world number 10 reasserted herself, winning five points in a row to hold serve before breaking Linette for a 2-1 lead.
Linette had to take a medical off-court timeout, with Raducanu using the break to practice her serve, and the Briton continued to dominate to establish a 5-1 lead.
Raducanu then served out the match with ease, claiming victory in one hour 16 minutes and leaving the court with a smile and thumbs-up for the fans.
British number two Dan Evans won through to the quarter-finals of the San Diego Open with a 6-4 6-4 win over Japan’s Taro Daniel. He will play Constant Lestienne from France on Friday.
Emma Raducanu’s attempt to defend her US Open title was unsuccessful when she was defeated by Alize Cornet of France in straight sets.
The 19-year-old Raducanu shocked the world by winning the major as a teenage qualifier, but her subsequent appearance on the court at Flushing Meadows was less noteworthy.
The British number one was out-hustled and out-scrapped by the experienced Cornet, who won 6-3 6-3 in New York.
Raducanu seeded 11th, will tumble down the rankings after losing the points she earned with the title last year.
“This one obviously hurts a bit because it’s my favourite tournament and there are a lot of emotions in the past year,” she said.
“I’m proud for putting myself out there every match, every day, knowing I’m pushing myself to be the best I can.”
The teenager has found her full-time transition to the WTA Tour a testing one, with the season punctured by niggling injuries that have contributed to inconsistent results.
Even her build-up to the US Open was not without bumps. A poor practice session on Friday was described as “one of those bad days”, although she played down the significance of a wrist injury that needed treatment.
Drawing Cornet, a wily and talented player with some notable results at the majors, in the first round was also about as tough as it could have been.
Cornet, 32, is ranked 40th in the world and narrowly missed out on a seeding.
At Wimbledon, she ended world number one Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak and reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open at the start of what could be her final year as a professional.
A warm ovation greeted Raducanu’s arrival for Tuesday’s night session at Louis Armstrong Stadium, despite the match being far from a sell-out, and she was given plenty of vocal support throughout.
There were the odd signs of Raducanu’s quality as she traded blows with Cornet, particularly in a tussle of a first set, but the reality was she made too many mistakes against an opponent simply in better form.
Raducanu had her service broken seven times and an overall tally of 31 unforced errors illustrated her current position.
That was in stark contrast to the teenager’s clean and free-swinging approach last year in New York, where she did not drop a set on the way to lifting the trophy.
A gusty wind whipping around the court made conditions tricky for both players, but Cornet initially handled them better as Raducanu struggled on serve and also to find consistent rhythm in her groundstrokes.
“Alize’s defence was pretty good. Like, I thought she was just scrapping everything back. There were junk balls in the middle of the court.
“With the wind blowing around, it was really difficult. She just kept getting it back.”
Spraying wayward returns from both sides, Raducanu fell 4-2 behind in the opener and, after breaking back, threw in another poor service game for 5-3 to allow Cornet to take the opener.
Raducanu called for the physio at the end of the set, wincing as she received treatment for blisters on her hand.
“I’ve been getting some blisters throughout the weeks in the States. But I think that’s just down to humidity and stuff,” said Raducanu, who also suffered from them during her Australian Open defeat in January.
After returning to court with more tape, things looked ominous when she was broken in the first game of the second set.
But she showed more resilience to break back and, assisted by a string of double faults by Cornet, move 3-1 ahead.
Many of the American fans leaped to their feet, showing their support for the Briton, but the atmosphere quickly dampened as Cornet rediscovered her level to swing the match back in her favour.
Iga Swiatek is still a standout candidate to winĂÂ the US Open, even if the WTA field has plenty of strength in depth, so says Laura Robson.
The latest iteration of the season’s final grand slam getsĂÂ under way on August 29, with Emma Raducanu looking to mount a successful defence atĂÂ Flushing Meadows.
But with six different winners in the last eight WTA majors, the race is wide open to take glory in New York, particularly after three-time major winner Ash Barty called time on her career following this year’s Australian Open.
That leaves former British number oneĂÂ Robson feeling any title fight is too tough to call, though she believes the strength of the field makes it all the more thrilling and unpredictable.
“I think it just shows that there’s a lot of depth on the WTA side,” she told Stats Perform.ĂÂ “You’ve got 15 players in any given slam [who could win], which for me makes it more exciting.
“I’m pumped when I see the draw come out, because things can open up so quickly. Had Ash Barty not retired earlier this year, then she probably would have been the front runner going into the rest of the season.
“It reallyĂÂ could be anyone. Ons Jabeur is playing great tennis, [Elena] Rybakina and then [Paula] Badosa, on hardcourts is playing great as well.”
Robson acknowledgedĂÂ it is tough to look past world number oneĂÂ Swiatek, though. The Pole claimedĂÂ her second French Open crown earlier this year and has won 50 matches in 2022.
“She just looked like she was on fire,” Robson added, before suggesting Swiatek’s defeat at Wimbledon to AlizeĂÂ Cornet came merely because “she just ran out of gas”.
“I think she’s going to transition a little slower on to the hard courts then at the US Open. They’re not quite the same surface that works best for her game.
“But at the same time, you know, she’s got so much confidence at the moment that you can’t really bet against her.”
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