Emma Raducanu begins rankings rebuild with ‘hard fought’ Slovenia Open win
Emma Raducanu has won her first match back since her in the first round at the US Open last month.
The 19-year-old defeated 22-year-old world number 89 Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 5-3 ret. as the young Ukrainian retired late on with a wrist injury in their Slovenia Open first round encounter.
Having fallen to 83rd in the WTA rankings, Raducanu is looking to climb back up the women’s ladder through the rest of the 2022 season and is enjoying her time in Portoroz.
“It has been really nice to be here,” she said after the win. “I came here early and it is a great place to have a tournament.”
“Nobody wants to win by retirement,” Raducanu added on the victory over Yastremska. “She is a ferocious competitor. I fought hard to stay in the points. I am happy to be in the next round.”
The No.1 seed @EmmaRaducanu moves into the second round after Yastremska retires due to injury.
Final score: 6-2, 5-3.#WTAPortoroz pic.twitter.com/s4rjQShPDU
— wta (@WTA) September 12, 2022
With the tournament seedings set before the end of the US Open, Raducanu is actually the top seed at the WTA 250 event despite being ranked below many other seeds, including Alizé Cornet, the woman who defeated her in New York, who is seeded sixth.
Next up, the British number one will take on either world number 124 Elizabeth Mandlik, American daughter of four-time Slam champion Hana Mandlíková, or German world number 95 Anna-Lena Friedsam.
Should Raducanu win the tournament in Portoroz and other rankings results go her way, the teenager could be ranked as high as 50th in the world come next week’s rankings update.
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