Emma Raducanu clears hurdle with first US Open win…
Emma Raducanu’s smile is back.
So is her sport.
The younger Brit broke her three-year U.S. Open drought, profitable her first match in Flushing Meadows since the breakthrough 2021 title that modified her life.
Radacanu rolled past qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2 at Louis Armstrong Stadium with a 26-minute first set and a brisk one-hour domination.
She’s cleared a large mental hurdle, making New York her completely satisfied place for the first time in years.
“Yeah, it has been on my mind,” said Radacanu, 22. “It’s been 4 years, and it’s a very particular match for me. I did really feel different coming into it this 12 months. I felt like I used to be doing the correct issues day to day, but still, it’s in the back of your head. So I’m just very happy to have overcome that.
Emma Raducanu hits a shot during her US Open win Aug. 24. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
“It’s my first win here since 2021, so it’s extra special. First rounds are always difficult and especially at a Slam. I’m just so happy with the way I came through that.”
Radacanu gained the 2021 U.S. Open as an 18-year-old qualifier, dazzling with not just her sport but her megawatt smile.
But after her title protection ended with a first-round loss to Alize Cornet — making her just the fourth reigning U.S. Open champ ousted in the opening spherical — she missed 2023 due to injury and suffered another first-round exit last 12 months to Sofia Kenin.
Emma Raducanu performs a shot during her US Open win Aug. 24. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
She acknowledged New York had turn out to be a mental hurdle.
“I really struggled when I came back in 2022. I didn’t enjoy coming back here,” Radacanu said. “Now is the first time that I feel like I can come back to the U.S. Open and really enjoy the memories that I made here. I can be proud of that and see it as a happy place.”
Radacanu regarded completely satisfied on the court Sunday, serving properly and taking an aggressive return place.
She appeared assured, confident and in control.
Emma Raducanu celebrates during her first-round win at the US Open on Aug. 24. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
She also appeared snug with her new coach, Francisco Roig.
Rafa Nadal’s ex-coach, the Spaniard consistently gave loud optimistic reinforcement.
“I put a lot of trust in what I’m doing with Francisco on the practice court,” Radacanu said. “We’re just working rather well, doing the correct stuff on the apply court, and I just really feel like I’m bettering. To take confidence from what I’m doing behind the scenes and not just trust because I’ve gained these matches on the tour.
“I’m doing a lot day to day. It’s going well, and I’m enjoying it. I’m enjoying getting better, and the process of feeling like, at the end of the day, I’m satisfied I got a little bit better and just repeating it. That’s probably the biggest success and reason why I feel the way I do right now.”
Despite being nervous beforehand, beginning shortly helped Radacanu settle in.
She ended up with an encouragingly clean match, just six unforced errors — one in the second set — to 36 by her outmatched Japanese foe.
Raducanu raced out to a fast 5-0 lead and cruised.
Emma Raducanu hits a shot during her win to start the US Open on Aug. 24. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
“I started off really well, and that helped relax me a lot,” she said. “Especially serving first game, that was a confident start, and then I felt like I could keep going.”
Now, Raducanu has a likelihood to keep going.
She’s provisionally up to world No. 33 in the live rankings after the win and well-placed to crack the top 30.
With No. 24 Veronika Kudermetova getting upset by Janice Tjen, Raducanu will get to face another qualifier.
With an further day baked into the first spherical this 12 months, she’ll get some free time in New York, now a completely satisfied place again.
“My nana — it’s not my actual grandma, but I’m like her adopted granddaughter, I’d like to think — she’s from New York, and she told me to go to the Frick Collection,” Raducanu said. “I’ve been into my art a lot more recently, and it’s reopened after I think four or five years of being under construction. That will be really exciting.”
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