Emma Raducanu Shines at US Open With Dominant 6-1, 6-2 First-Round Win

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Emma Raducanu made a very impressive start to her US Open campaign as she surged past Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-1 6-2 in just over an hour to reach the second round on opening Sunday.

The British No 1 sealed her first victory at Flushing Meadows since winning the tournament as an 18-year-old in 2021.

Watched on by her new coach Francisco Roig, who worked with Rafael Nadal for two decades, Raducanu wasted little time in sweeping past the world No 128 with a quality performance in just 62 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Emma Raducanu’s projected US Open draw

R1 – bt Shibahara 6-1 6-2

R2 – Tjen

R3 – Rybakina

R4 – Paolini/Kessler/Vondrousova

QF – Sabalenka/Tauson

SF – Pegula/Andreeva/Mboko/Bencic

F – Swiatek/Gauff/Keys/Anisimova

 

Much stiffer tests will await but this was the ideal start for Raducanu, who said: “Of course I’m very, very pleased with that match. It’s my first win here since 2021. I’m just so happy with the way I came through that.

“I’m just very pleased with how I managed myself, managed my game through that match.” Raducanu wants to keep building momentum, and is sensing that with her revamped coaching team.”I’m very happy. I’ve got amazing people in my corner over there. I want to thank them,” she said.

“It makes every day of the work feel a lot more enjoyable, pleasurable and I see the progress I’m making on the practice court.

“It might not come straight away but I know over time I’m just racking up good days, building and I feel like it has to go somewhere.”

How Raducanu made it through to the second round…

Raducanu only missed out on a seeding by one place and quickly stamped her authority on proceedings against 128th-ranked Shibahara, who at 27 was playing in just her second main singles draw at a major.

The gusty conditions made it difficult for both women but Raducanu was much the steadier, beginning the contest with an ace and moving into a 5-0 lead.

The 22-year-old served out the opening set after Shibahara had finally won a game and then moved 4-0 ahead
again in the second.

Shibahara had one chance to pull the lead back to 4-2 with a break point but Raducanu impressively picked up a short volley, pumping her fist and yelling when her opponent netted a backhand, and she served out the contest to love.

Also in Raducanu’s box, as he had been at Wimbledon, was Jerome Poupel, a French chiropractor who also works with Formula One drivers, jockeys and even racehorses.

Raducanu turned to Poupel after struggling with back problems, and she said: “He’s helped a lot. I’ve had back issues for the past few months. Nothing I seemed to have tried really worked but he’s really helped me with that and it’s feeling a lot better for the most part.”

Raducanu will not play again until Wednesday when she takes on qualifier Janice Tjen, who beat the 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 4-6 6-4.

Tjen became the first player from Indonesia in a Grand Slam main draw since Angelique Widjaja at the 2004 US Open.

Tjen, who attended Pepperdine University in California when Raducanu won the title here in 2021, said: “Just seeing her doing it makes me inspired, to be able to do it as well.

“It’s going to be a big crowd, I would say, a bigger crowd playing against her. She’s a very well known player, and I’m just excited for the opportunity.”

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