Emma Raducanu has secured a spot in the second round of the French Open after knocking out Wang Xinyu.
Raducanu could pose a big threat at the French Open, where she clinched a place in round two after beating Wang 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
The 2021 US Open champion is unseeded at the French Open, with Paris playing host to the second Grand Slam of 2025.
Raducanu fell in the third round of the Australian Open earlier this year, with Wimbledon and the US Open completing the schedule across both the WTA and ATP tours.
But her current focus is on the French Open, which she entered immediately after losing in the round of 16 at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Emma Raducanu spotted with ‘strange’ problem in first round of French Open
The former WTA number 10 has now returned to winning ways, although Raducanu did have an injury scare during her win over Wang, according to Annabel Croft.
With the first set tied at 2-2, former British number one Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: “This is strange because even when Emma Raducanu is coming forward, she just seems to lack that movement that we are so used to seeing from her.
“It looks like she is trying to assess her back issue while on court. She looks to be pushing it a little bit and then she isn’t running for a few things.
“So I think she is trying to work out how she feels physically in her own head. Something is not 100% here, we’re not used to seeing her move like this and it definitely doesn’t look right.”
Emma Raducanu overcomes eye issue to win French Open first round match
Raducanu was not only troubled by a back issue in her French Open opener, with the Briton also experiencing a problem with her eye.
Leading Wang 6-5 in the first set, she called for the doctor, rubbing ice on her eyes as the problem was analysed.
Sharing her take on the situation, Croft said: “It looks like Emma Raducanu is having something done to her eye here, she is rubbing her cheek but it’s quite high up near her eye.
“I don’t think she is feeling 100%. I think her whole physical expression throughout this first set hasn’t been quite right, even though she’s doing extremely well to keep on top of the scoreline.”
As Croft noted, Raducanu dealt with the setbacks superbly to win the first set and ultimately the match after losing the second.
But a formidable opponent now awaits, with the former British number one set to meet three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in round two.
The Pole clinched the French Open title in 2022, 2023 and 2024, having also triumphed at Roland Garros in 2020.
Her titles in Paris represent four of her five Grand Slam titles, with Swiatek advancing to round two after beating Rebecca Sramkova 6-3, 6-3.
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