Emma Raducanu +20 in WTA Rankings as she keeps ‘building momentum’ in Washington
Emma Raducanu has secured another WTA Rankings boost after she defeated Peyton Stearns in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals in Washington.
The former US Open champion earned a convincing 7-6(6), 6-2 second round triumph against Stearns, the world No 51, in the second round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
Raducanu converted her fourth set point to win a tight opening set in a tiebreak after rain had halted play when she served for the set at 5-4.
The Brit then broke her 22-year-old American opponent twice in the second set as she sealed an impressive win to book her spot in the last eight at the WTA 500 tournament.
With the 108 points earned for reaching the quarter-finals, Raducanu has jumped 20 places from 89th to 69th in the live WTA Rankings.
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The 21-year-old will face either Paula Badosa or Liudmila Samsonova in the last eight and she could return to the top 60 if she reaches the semi-finals.
If Raducanu goes on to win her second-ever title to add to her 2021 US Open triumph, she could climb as high as 43rd in the rankings.
In an on-court interview, Raducanu addressed the challenge of overcoming the rain delay, which came at an inopportune moment for her in the first set.
“Honestly it was like ‘why did I play that last point at 15-15?’, but I managed to get over that (rain delay) quite quickly and actually have set point on that service game,” she said.
“It’s tricky today, when you get rained off at such a big moment like that. It can affect the dynamics of the match. I think I did a pretty good job of coming out pretty strong and toughing out that tiebreak.”
The former world No 10 added: “I want to thank everyone’s patience and waiting for the end of that match. I knew it was going to be a tough match against Peyton, especially [with her] playing at home.
“It’s been a good run for me in the last few months, I think I’m building some momentum. I think I’m most pleased with my game, development, and the work I am doing off the match court and in practice.
“For that to show a little bit in matches in the last few months, I am very pleased with, and I just have to keep trusting the work I am doing with coach Nick [Cavaday], who has been great.”
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