Emma Raducanu ready for ‘good fun’ as she announces where she will begin US Open defence preparation

Emma Raducanu will play the Citi Open in Washington DC for the first time to get her North American hard court stint underway ahead of having to defend her 2021 US Open crown. 

After exiting Roland Garros in the second round, the 19-year-old headed straight home to the UK to begin preparation for the grass.

She is playing the WTA 250 Rothesay Open in Nottingham this week and Birmingham next, but announced her participation in the US capital from Wimbledon.

Raducanu said: “I’m happy to announce that I’m coming to [Washington] DC to play the tournament this summer.

“I’m really looking forward to it because I haven’t been to the capital before.

“It should be good fun!”

See you soon, @CitiOpen! pic.twitter.com/vSmTHlpxyg

— Emma Raducanu (@EmmaRaducanu) June 4, 2022

The Citi Open has not had a WTA event since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but returns for 2022.

Last year, world number 11 Raducanu was ranked 184th heading into August.

She played the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic then, an event that runs at the same time as Washington from 1st-7th August this year.

When Raducanu dropped out of Roland Garros this year, former world number four Tim Henman said the teen could take a number of positives from a seemingly disappointing experience on the clay.

He also suggested she will benefit from a return to the familiarity of home events and a surface like grass.

Raducanu made her WTA tour debut in Nottingham last year ahead of capturing the imagination of the tennis and wider British public with her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon.

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