It’s been a long road for Emma Raducanu to get to this point in her career.
Despite still only being 22-years-old, Raducanu hasn’t lived up to the hype that was expected when she stunned the world of tennis by winning the US Open in 2021.
Raducanu beat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez to claim a Grand Slam as a teenager and become the first British woman to win a major since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977.
Winning a Grand Slam title isn’t easy and it’s something that will never be taken away from Raducanu, who hasn’t really kicked on as she would have hoped since that memorable night at Flushing Meadows.
Still, the last 12 months have shown clear signs that her body is now recovering following a number of surgeries since that US Open win, most notably on her wrists and ankles.
Emma Raducanu makes big decision ahead of Washington
The world’s best male and female players are going to descend on the Mubadala Citi DC Open this week as the United States swing gets off the ground.
Raducanu will go into the tournament on the back of winning a couple of matches at Wimbledon before crashing out to Aryna Sabalenka in round three.
In 2023, Raducanu was forced to miss three of the four Grand Slam tournaments through injury and since the Australian Open in 2024, she’s only missed one French Open, showcasing that she’s starting to feel fitter and stronger.
Now, Raducanu has dropped a further hint that she’s feeling good by entering the doubles competition at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, which starts tomorrow.
The Great British performer is going to partner with Elena Rybakina, with Raducanu clearly getting some practice in for her participation in the new mixed doubles at the US Open, where she will partner Carlos Alcaraz.
Raducanu taking the shackles off
Quite clearly, this is the healthiest that Raducanu has felt for quite some time, given that she’s now starting to branch out and play some more tennis.
In recent times, Raducanu has arrived at tournaments somewhat undercooked, and that has seen her struggle for consistency and rhythm once the main draw gets underway.
Having won the US Open, Raducanu will have fond memories of Flushing Meadows in New York, and she will want to make sure she’s in a good place ahead of this year’s edition of the tournament.
From where she was 12 months ago, Raducanu has improved her ranking considerably and now sits in 45th place as 2025 starts to progress towards the last Grand Slam and the final months of the year.
Rybakina and Raducanu will face the number four seeds Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls in round one, with fans now keen to get a glimpse of the two players in action.
This could prove to be a big step for Raducanu as she looks to truly prove her fitness and it will be fascinating to see what she can achieve on the United States swing.
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