Emma Raducanu made a return to winning ways after beating wildcard Sayaka Ishii to setup a meeting with Emma Navarro.
Raducanu suffered an early exit at Indian Wells, signifying what has been a challenging start to the 2025 season for the Brit.
While the former US Open champion has found wins hard to come by, Raducanu has been supporting Jack Draper, her compatriot who won the biggest title of his career so far at Indian Wells.
Raducanu has also commented on Mirra Andreeva, who won the women’s singles title at Indian Wells, with parallels between their respective careers after both coming into the spotlight as teenagers.
After winning only her second match since the Australian Open, Raducanu will now face a tough test against the world number 10.
Emma Raducanu says what she thinks about Emma Navarro
Raducanu beat Japanese wildcard Ishii, 6-2 6-1, to win her first ever match at the Miami Open.
This has set up a first-time meeting with her namesake, Navarro, who recently made history after winning her second WTA title in Merida.
In her on-court interview after the match, Raducanu was asked about her upcoming match with Navarro.
While they have never played a competitive match against one another, Raducanu suggested that she has crossed paths with the US Open semi-finalist when praising Navarro.
“It’s gonna be an extremely challenging match,” said Raducanu. “I think it’s a match where she’s probably in better form, so I think I can just go out and try and express myself and compete for every point.
“She’s a great person, I think on the tour it’s probably one of the people we would like warm to and say hi.”
Emma Raducanu explains what is deceiving about Emma Navarro
Navarro is one of four American women currently ranked inside the top 10, with the 23-year-old being named the ‘Most Improved Player’ on the WTA Tour last year.
When continuing to speak about Navarro after her win, Raducanu suggested to Sky Sports that she thinks the American’s power is underrated.
“I think it’s deceiving how hard she hits the backhand especially, forehand, you know she can do a lot with the ball,” explained Raducanu.
“She can maneuver the ball, a lot of variety and I think in a way we’re quite similar in terms of our build and in terms of our game, so I think it will be an interesting matchup and one that I’m looking forward to and I guess one right now that I don’t have pressure on.”
Raducanu will look to win back-to-back matches since the Australian Open when she plays Navarro at the Miami Open on Friday March 21.
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