‘You don’t want to be out by Sunday lunchtime’ – Raducanu wins New York opener

US Open 2025

Dates: August 24 through September 7 in Flushing Meadows, New York

It added a little pressure when Emma Raducanu learned that one of her first matches would start the US Open on Sunday.

Ena Shibahara, the British number one, and Ena Shibahara, a qualifier from Japan, did not win a match at Flushing Meadows since her famous 2021 title triumph.

However, Raducanu only needed 62 minutes to win the Grand Slam main-draw match 6-1, 6-2, and record her quickest Grand Slam victory of her career.

You don’t want to be out of the tournament by 12: 30pm on a Sunday, Raducanu told BBC Sport. “When I saw the Sunday schedule, I thought first day, first match at 11am.

“That was definitely on my mind,” I said.

“At the same time, if it goes well, you also get an afternoon off,” which is really nice before your game-day break.

“I’m happy I can enjoy my day and celebrate the victory,” I said.

At 12:15 local time, Raducanu returned to the practice courts to score his first-ever victory of the year’s tournament, which was a victory that had already been won.

In a light-hearted session lasting about 30 minutes, new coach Francisco Roig, who made the signing for Raducanu’s team earlier this month, worked on her forehand returns from the baseline.

Although there was little guidance or input needed against world number 130 Shibahara, Roig has grown popular in her courtside box.

However, Raducanu claimed that even if the Spaniard had been trying to deliver instructions, the game would not have mattered because it was taking place in a noisy Louis Armstrong Stadium.

You can only really hear it when you’re kind of lip-reading, she continued.

“When I feel like I really need something, I will go over,” he said, probably not much of what I don’t take in.

I felt like I had most of the things under control on my side of the court, especially when it was a game like this.

The pair appeared to have gotten along despite only having been together for a short while.

Roig and Raducanu’s relationship grew as a result of lengthy car journeys to the Cincinnati Open, where he took over driving duties. Raducanu has since begun to teach him some Spanish.

She joked, “If anyone asks if I can say something in Spanish, I just go over some verb conjugations.”

Although it’s not the best way to start a conversation, I’m getting there.

In Raducanu’s new-look team, which includes Frenchman Jerome Poupel, as well as a quirky back story, there is another voice.

Prior to this, Poupel has treated horses and worked with former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard and racing legend AP McCoy.

I don’t ask questions because I don’t really know what he does with horses! It just seems to work on them, according to Raducanu.

As a teenage qualifier, 22-year-old Raducanu had previously been burdened by her return to the scene where she shocked the world.

In addition to missing the 2023 tournament due to injury, the 2022 and 2024 opponents faced second-round defeats.

She returns to New York this year with improved form and renewed energy.

This year, Raducanu has won more WTA Tour matches than any other player, and he is now in the top 30 of the world.

Due to her recent injuries over the past four years and the mental strain of such intense attention, Raducanu is only now beginning to see the US Open as her “happy place.”

She has a jovial figure cut since arriving in New York last weekend, particularly when she competed alongside Carlos Alcaraz in the updated mixed doubles competition.

She believes she can fulfill her potential on it best by feeling more at ease and carefree off the court.

I found the first round to be very clean, especially for those with nerves, said Raducanu.

I was able to avoid winning a match here for four years.