Emma Raducanu overcame an immense physical challenge yesterday to secure her place in the Queen’s final.
It marks the culmination of a sensational first week on the grass, and a fine start to life under new coach Andrew Richardson once again.
Whilst the 23-year-old put in arguably one of the best performances of her career to beat Iva Jovic yesterday afternoon, what arguably made that victory even more impressive was the fact that she had played another match earlier that day.
Discussing the impact of such a challenging task, Emma Raducanu has now offered a fitness update ahead of her final.
Emma Raducanu speaks after winning two matches in one day at Queen’s
Speaking to the press, she began by discussing the difficulties of playing twice in one day.
She admitted: “Having to play two matches today was a real physical challenge, and I’m really proud of how I kind of overcame that with the help of my team, of course.
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“I think that I knew playing Iva, she’s one of the most in-form players right now on the tour, so I think having that match and the first one in the morning did help in some ways, because I had a better feel of the court, I would say, rather than going straight in.
“Maybe it worked in my advantage, but it easily could have gone the other way, and with the slip, especially. Yeah, just really glad to be in this situation.”
Then, asked for a fitness update after being pictured with heavy strapping on one of her legs, Raducanu added: “Yeah, I think it’s amazing what adrenaline and support can do, and the mind as well. So right now I still have to kind of assess, but yeah, I know we’re going to do everything we possibly can for one more tomorrow.”
Raducanu fell over during her quarter-final win, conjuring even more fears over her fitness. All she needs is one more big performance to claim what would be just the second title of her career.
Emma Raducanu’s record in WTA finals
This will be Raducanu’s third career final, and a chance to positively tip the scales in her favour when playing in such events.
After all, having obviously won her first-ever final, in the 2021 US Open, the world number 31 was forced to wait some time before making it to another.
This has drawn huge scrutiny, with her Grand Slam title acting both as the greatest triumph of her career and an opportunity to lambast her for failing to live up to the expectations she set with that triumph.
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2026 has been different though, despite being a year laden with injuries and health concerns. Her run in Queen’s this week marks the second final she has reached this season alone.
Raducanu lost in Romania earlier this year, as Sorana Cirstea brutally exposed the Brit, who was suffering from illness.
Hopefully, with a clean bill of health today, Raducanu can finally add another title to her trophy cabinet, earned in front of her home crowd no less.
