Emma Raducanu has enjoyed a solid start to her 2025 campaign, as she now looks to build some momentum on the grass.
After struggling during the early months of the season, the Brit found her form in Miami, where Raducanu beat Amanda Anisimova to qualify for her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
Moving onto the clay, Raducanu picked up wins at the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, and in Strasbourg, ahead of Roland Garros.
Winning her opening match in three sets against China’s Wang Xinyu, she came face to face with three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in round two.
It was there that her clay season came to an end, as Swiatek beat Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Returning home for the grass season, Raducanu was looking to mark the return of the Queen’s Club Championships to the WTA calendar with a big win.
She did just that, taking down Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, booking her place in the second round.
Speaking after her first win on the ‘Andy Murray Arena’, Raducanu revealed what Andy Murray means to her.
Emma Raducanu says Andy Murray is ‘an inspiration to all of us’ after first win on Andy Murray Arena
During her on-court interview, Raducanu was asked how special it was for her to secure the win on the newly-named ‘Andy Murray Arena’.
“It’s incredibly special, I saw the arena,” she said.
“It’s amazing what Andy [Murray] has achieved here, and in general, his career with Wimbledon.
“He’s such an inspiration to all of us. To see him open up this court was immense yesterday. For us girls to have a tournament here finally, after watching the men play on TV, is really nice.”
Women last played at Queen’s in 1973 when Soviet star Olga Morozova beat Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the final, 6-2, 6-3.
Marking the return of the women’s event with a convincing win, Raducanu reflected on her own performance.
“I must say I was quite locked in today,” she said.
“I’m very pleased with my performance. I was a little bit nervous for sure at the beginning, it was my first time playing on this court, in Queens in London. The support was incredible.”
Raducanu admitted she isn’t quite up to speed with grass courts yet, having only transitioned from clay a few weeks ago.
“I’m still trying to find my groove on this surface, there are certain shots that I feel like I’m still a little bit late on, so I’m working on that,” she said.
“I knew today would be a really difficult match. I actually lost to Cristina [Bucsa] earlier on in the year. I was really trying to fight and make sure that didn’t happen again.
“I was really trying to fight and get myself into the second round. I just want to stay here playing at Queen’s as many matches as I possibly can.”
Raducanu will return to take on either defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova or Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in round two.
Naomi Broady says Emma Raducanu played ‘clinical tennis’ in first-round win
During her commentary for BBC Sport, former British star Naomi Broady was asked whether she thought this was the ‘perfect start’ for Raducanu.
“Absolutely, against a player who has so much grass-court tennis under her feet already this season,” she said.
“This was Emma [Raducanu’s] first match, and it was really clinical tennis. Played with a smile.”
Raducanu took her chances brilliantly against the Spaniard, converting four of her five break points.
| Player | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve | Break points | Receiving points won | Service points won | Points won |
| Emma Raducanu | 78% | 77% | 60% | 4/5 | 19 | 36 | 55 |
| Cristina Bucsa | 79% | 57% | 29% | 0/1 | 14 | 19 | 33 |
Having produced such a dominant performance in her first-round match, she will no doubt be confident of making a deep run at this year’s tournament.
Raducanu will play Krejcikova or Sramkova in the second round of Queen’s on Wednesday, June 11.
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