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Emma Raducanu produced an impressive comeback to beat Veronika Kudermetova and set up an intriguing fourth-round meeting with Coco Gauff at the Italian Open.

Britain’s Raducanu beat the Russian 5-7 6-0 6-1 in a topsy-turvy match in Rome.

Raducanu served for the first set but was broken and lost three games in a row before reeling off eight games of her own.

She grew in confidence as Kudermetova faltered, clenching her fists and yelling in celebration after a thumping forehand winner secured victory.

“The best thing for me was recovering from the first set after serving for it,” the world number 49 told Sky Sports.

“I’m so happy that I didn’t let the rest of the match get away with me – I think that’s big progress maybe compared to the matches I’ve played in the past.”

Raducanu will face a tough test against fellow former US Open champion Gauff, who reached the Madrid Open final earlier in May.

“I’m happy with the variety I have on my shots – I’m able to return from two different positions, which is new,” the Briton added.

Raducanu said on Friday that she was still “finding her feet” on the clay but her movement, particularly sliding behind the baseline, improved as the match progressed.

She often spoke to Mark Petchey and Jane O’Donoghue in her coaching box. Petchey offered vocal encouragement throughout the match.

She and Kudermetova exchanged early breaks before a sterling return winner from Raducanu allowed her to serve for the set at 5-4.

However, the Briton’s first serve percentage dropped and she handed back the break on a double fault, before Kudermetova won three games in a row to take the first set.

However, the Russian crumbled from there on.

An unfortunate bounce off a Raducanu shot wrong-footed Kudermetova in her first service game – and visibly annoyed, Kudermetova lost a 40-15 lead to suffer a break of serve, with her forehand in particular losing all timing.

Raducanu moved better, sliding in and out of the corners, and rushed her way through five games in a row before Kudermetova took a medical timeout.

The Briton was smart during that timeout, staying on the court and hitting balls rather than sitting down and risk losing rhythm.

A stunning return of serve from Raducanu put her a break up in the third set and she led 2-0. And despite Kudermetova then getting on the board, the Briton proved too strong, firing forehand winners, dictating the rallies and returning serve excellently to secure her place in the next round.

Earlier, world number one Aryna Sabalenka fought back to beat fellow Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin 3-6 6-3 6-3.

Belarusian Sabalenka, champion in Madrid last week, is the heavy favourite for the title after Iga Swiatek’s surprise third-round defeat on Saturday.

It has been another exhilarating Women’s Super League season with Chelsea finishing on top yet again – but how did each club fare during 2024-25?

While some exceeded expectations, others underwhelmed and struggled in a relegation battle.

Four clubs saw changes in management and several new signings put their stamp on the WSL.

Sonia Bompastor’s debut season in England has been explosive as she guided Chelsea to the title with two games to spare and they finished unbeaten in the WSL.

It is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the club’s continued willingness to invest in and back their team.

I wondered if Chelsea would take a few months to adapt under Bompastor following 12 years with former boss Emma Hayes but they carried on where they left off.

It has not been easy, they have been tested and pushed close in a number of matches – winning by a 1-0 scoreline on 10 occasions.

But ultimately they delivered as they strived for perfection and came as close as they could to it by not losing a single game.

If this was the “transition” season that may have given their rivals a sniff, it does not bode well for everyone else moving forward. They remain the team to beat.

When former manager Jonas Eidevall resigned in October, Arsenal sat sixth in the WSL after winning just one of their opening four games.

They were struggling on all fronts, lacking in fluidity and confidence and it showed in their performances.

But under Renee Slegers – first as interim boss before she took on the role permanently – they have rebuilt throughout the campaign.

They booked their place in the Women’s Champions League final and that impacted their form in the final WSL matches of the season. They were not as strong in the head-to-head battles against the other sides in the top four.

They had ambitions to win silverware and the league, but given all things considered, it’s been a pretty good campaign for them – however, they will want to go one step further next season.

Manchester United missed out on second place on the final day with a 4-3 defeat by Arsenal.

But it does not take away from what has been a solid campaign.

They reached a third successive FA Cup final, qualified for the Champions League and maintained the second-best defensive record in the league.

Manager Marc Skinner embedded new signings and United’s aggressive pressing style has evolved throughout the campaign. They will be pleased with their progress.

It’s not been a good season for Manchester City.

Lengthy injuries to key players have undoubtedly played a major part in their collapse but they failed to react to that in the January transfer window.

Summer signings Aoba Fujino and Kerolin made an impact, while key forwards Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw shone individually before their injuries.

But for a club who missed out on the title by goal difference last season, and have now failed to qualify for the Champions League or win a trophy, it is a big drop-off.

They have work to do in the summer to rebuild and they need to find a permanent manager following Gareth Taylor’s sacking in March.

It’s been a positive season for Brighton, who invested strongly in the summer and have played some great football in patches.

They will want more consistency but the club are on an upwards trajectory and this was definitely a season in which they saw progress under manager Dario Vidosic.

Highlights included victory over Arsenal and a draw with Chelsea but they did drop needless points against teams around them in the table.

They held on to fifth spot – a great achievement – but they know there is still work to do.

It’s been a difficult campaign for Aston Villa who, up until the end of March, were on the brink of relegation having sat a point above bottom club Palace.

Former manager Robert de Pauw was sacked after just six months meaning Natalia Arroyo had to pick up the pieces when she arrived in February.

It was not easy at first and they took a while to get going but eventually their persistence paid off, leading to a strong end to the campaign.

They won their last five matches and leapfrogged several clubs on the final day to finish a respectable sixth in the table.

It provides hope for next season when Arroyo can put her stamp on the team – but Villa will not want to go through what they have done this year any time soon.

Like Villa, it has not been smooth sailing for Liverpool but they end the season in a reasonable position.

Given low budgets in the transfer window, a managerial sacking midway through and injuries at the start of the season, they have found it difficult at times.

But in club-record signing Olivia Smith they have found one of the WSL’s stars and can build their future around her.

They want to close the gap on the top four but unless they invest more, they will continue to hover around mid-table and experience inconsistency.

It has been a tale of two half seasons for Everton – before the new ownership and after it.

Another major injury crisis meant they were in desperate need for squad depth and investment in the transfer window and they got that in January.

New signings Kelly Gago and Hayley Ladd were strong additions and the return of injured players meant they climbed to safety quickly.

Overall, it’s been a decent campaign given they were not in any relegation danger for the final few months.

There were real concerns for West Ham in pre-season but it has been a really positive season with manager Rehanne Skinner getting the rewards for her hard work behind the scenes.

They played some good football in the new year and picked up impressive points against Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United.

They were on course to finish higher in the table but defeats in their final two matches saw them drop off.

That inconsistency still remains but it’s been a good season for West Ham.

There were high hopes for Leicester City under manager Amandine Miquel this season but it has been a largely forgettable campaign.

Plagued by injuries to attacking players, Leicester scored just 21 goals all season – only relegated Crystal Palace scored fewer (20).

It meant they struggled to make a real impact and though they kept Chelsea at bay – the first team to take points off Bompastor’s side in the WSL – they were not able to compete as much as they would have liked.

With ambitious London City Lionesses making their hotly-anticipated debut in the competition next season, Leicester will need a big summer to ensure they are not dragged into another relegation battle in 2026.

Simply put, it’s been a poor season for Tottenham.

Having reached the Women’s FA Cup final last year, there were positive signs and a clear direction of travel under manager Robert Vilahamn.

But costly defensive errors, risky tactics that did not pay off and failure to replace creative players Grace Clinton and Celin Bizet, ultimately harmed them.

Vilahamn wants his side to play entertaining football but they were too unorganised and they shipped the joint-second most goals in the league (44).

There is definitely no need to panic but Spurs need to add the missing jigsaw pieces to compete consistently and play in the style Vilahamn wants.

The odds were always stacked against Crystal Palace – as the promoted side with a small budget – but it was made worse when they sacked former manager Laura Kaminski.

They were bottom of the table at the time but within four points of safety and had shown glimpses of quality.

The inability to maintain performances over 90 minutes had proven to be their downfall but the attempt to shake things up failed and only seemed to bring disruption.

Heavy defeats by Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham will have hurt during the campaign and replacement manager Leif Smerud is stepping down following their relegation. It is an unsettling period for the club now.