Emma Raducanu facing a major rankings hammer blow ahead of US Open
Emma Raducanu is facing an uphill battle to secure a seeded position at the US Open after her comprehensive defeat against Amanda Anisimova at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal.
Anisimova hammered Radudanu 6-2, 6-1 in a defeat that will set alarm bells ringing for the Brit, who looked helpless as she was blown away in a match that was all over in a little over one hour.
Raducanu had beaten Anisimova in their previous two clashes in 2025, so she will have been shocked by the scale of the defeat against her friend and rival who reached the Wimbledon final last month.
Now Raducanu needs a strong run at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati later this month to have a chance to break into the top 32 of the rankings and secure a seeding for the final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open.
She may need to make it through to the quarter-finals in Cincinnati to get a seeded berth in New York, as that would give her 215 points.
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A last-16 appearance would be worth 120 points and that may also be enough if other players drop down the rankings.
She could also opt to play in the WTA Tour 250 event in Cleveland or the WTA 500 tournament in Monterrey the week before the US Open, if a seeded berth in New York is a driving ambition.
Being seeded would help Raducanu avoid the prospect of taking on players such as world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, newly crowned Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek or the in-form Anisimova in the opening couple of rounds at the US Open.
Raducanu doesn’t have any ranking points to defend over the next few weeks, as she did not play any tournaments ahead of the US Open last year due to some bizarre scheduling decisions.
Her reluctance to play in qualifying for big tournaments she did not qualify for on her ranking meant she headed into the US Open with limited match practice on US hard courts last year.
She predictably lost in the first round against Sofia Kenin, so she has a huge chance to gain plenty of ranking points over the next few weeks.
While she may now come up short of a seeding for the US Open, she could finish that tournament well inside the top 30 of the rankings if she has a good run of results in New York and according to former British No 1 Tim Henman, Raducanu is making progress in her career.
“This is not about the next four weeks for Emma, it’s about the next four years and where she can go,” Henman told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview.
“What is success? It is for her to get back into the top 30 or maybe the top 10? It’s about being the best version of yourself and maximising your potential.
“Now she has got a good team around her and I hope she sticks with it. Petch has been around the game for a long time and has been good for her.
“She has played lots of tournaments, been on court for a lot of matches and built up that physical resilience over what is a long season.
“I’m sure she will be licking some wounds after that defeat [against Swiatek] and the upside of finishing early at Roland Garros is she can put the clay court shoes away, head home and get ready for grass. I don’t have any concerns so long as she keeps on this path.”
