Emma Raducanu on the brink of a major rankings breakthrough after US Open win
Emma Raducanu set herself a target of being seeded for the first Grand Slam of 2026 and she is closing in on that goal after an emphatic win in her first match at the US Open.
The British No 1 became the first player to win a completed match at Flushing Meadows this year as she hammered Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2.
This was a comfortable win for Raducanu, who won her first match at the US Open since her iconic title success four years ago, with the control and power she showed on court backing up the suspicion that the 22-year-old has taken her game to the next level in recent months.
Raducanu headed into the final Grand Slam of 2025 with bolstered belief after two impressive performances against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon and Cincinnati.
Now she is eyeing up a run in New York that will bolster her WTA Rankings and she was encouraged by her opening display.
“I’m very pleased to have come through that match,” she said. “First rounds are very challenging always, the nerves, and I think I had a little bit of the added pressure as I wanted to win a match here (since 2021) really bad.
“It has been on my mind. It’s been four years, and it’s a very special tournament for me. I did feel different coming into it this year. I felt like I was doing the right things day to day, but still, it’s in the back of your head. So I’m just very pleased to have overcome that.
“Of course I’m very, very pleased to have won that match. It’s my first win here since 2021 so it’s extra special.
“First rounds are always difficult, especially at a Slam, you know, there are nerves, I’m just so happy with the way I came through that, and playing Ena, she’s really tricky.
“She hit so many balls on the baseline that I was not expecting to just dip. She obviously came through qualifying and [as a qualifier] you always feel like you have a bit of an advantage, you’re playing on the surface, you know what it feels like so I’m just very pleased with how I managed myself, how I managed my game through that match.”
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Raducanu’s first US Open win in four years allowed her to make a lead in the live WTA Rankings and she is now sitting at No 33 heading into her second round match against Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, who pulled off a shock win against No 24 seed Veronika Kudermentova.
If she beats Tjen, Raducanu will move back into the top 30 of the WTA live rankings, which will officially be updated when the tournament concludes in two weeks.
With just 10 points to defend after he first-round defeat in the US Open last year, everything Raducanu achieves from this point forward in New York will bolster her ranking, with this impressively polished performance confirming her recent run of positive form is being sustained as the Brit looks to go on another memorable run at the US Open.
After an easy win against Shibahara, Raducanu was spotted back out on the practice courts with coach Francisco Roig shortly after she booked her place in the second round at Flushing Meadows.
