Revealed: Emma Raducanu’s challenging record against top-10 opponents
Emma Raducanu is on the cusp of a huge breakthrough at the Miami Open, with the world No 60 just one match away from a return to British No 1.
Already into her first WTA 1000 quarter-final, Raducanu is now looking to make a first semi-final at that level – and extend what is already her best run since her 2021 US Open triumph.
However, the Brit faces her toughest test yet against world No 4 Jessica Pegula, who has reached the last eight in Miami for the fourth straight year.
And, based on an underwhelming top-10 record on hard courts, Raducanu faces an uphill task to keep her campaign alive.
1-6 record on hard courts
With a US Open title to her name, there can be no doubt that Raducanu knows how to play on hard courts.
However, the Grand Slam winner has struggled when it comes to facing top-10 players on the surface, with just one win in seven matches to her name heading into this clash – a win percentage of 14.3%.
The good news for Raducanu is that her one win over a top-10 star on hard courts came earlier this week, with the Brit battling past world No 10 Emma Navarro 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(3) in the second round.
But, before that, she had suffered six consecutive defeats against top-10 players on hard courts – starting with a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Pegula at the 2022 Cincinnati Open.
Raducanu was then beaten by Coco Gauff at the 2023 Australian Open, Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells in 2023, Ons Jabeur at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Open, and Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells in 2024.
Those losses were ultimately followed by a lopsided 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Swiatek in the Australian Open third round this year.
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Though victory over Navarro will give her confidence, facing Pegula on this surface is one of the toughest challenges in tennis.
Six of Pegula’s seven WTA titles have come on hard courts, with 13 of her 16 WTA finals coming on the surface.
The 31-year-old has won three WTA 1000 titles on hard courts and was the 2024 US Open and 2023 WTA Finals runner-up.
Arguably, only Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Gauff – the three women ahead of her in the WTA Rankings – have found more consistency on the surface than the world No 4 has in recent seasons.
3-8 overall
Factoring in all surfaces, Raducanu’s top-10 record moves to 3-8, improving to a win rate of 27.3%.
Outside of her win over Navarro, the 22-year-old’s two other top-10 wins came on grass courts last summer, including a win over Pegula.
Raducanu defeated Pegula – ranked fifth in the world at the time – 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 in Eastbourne last June, saving a match point to pick up the best win of her career by ranking.
The Brit then followed that up with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over then-world No 9 Maria Sakkari in the third round of Wimbledon just a week later.
Raducanu’s two further losses both came to Iga Swiatek on the indoor clay of Stuttgart, losing to the Pole at the tournament in both 2022 and 2024.
