Emma Raducanu started her new coaching partnership with Francisco Roig on a winning note after kicking off her Cincinnati Open campaign with a straight-set win over Olga Danilovic.
The 22-year-old started working with esteemed coach Roig – who was one of 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal’s mentor for more than two decades – after Wimbledon, but was only confirmed in the build-up to the Cincinnati event that the Spaniard has taken up the full-time role until the end of the 2025 season.
But there was no settling period at the WTA 1000 tournament as the 2021 US Open winner won 6-3, 6-2.
Both players struggled on serve in the first set as there were four breaks in the first five games before Raducanu claimed the crucial break in game eight. She dominated the second set with two breaks to set up the solid victory.
“I’m really building some momentum. I’m really happy with how I’ve stayed pretty consistent over the last few months,” she started after the match.
“I still feel like there’s a long way to go but just working hard behind the scenes, putting a lot of hours in and hoping I can trust in that.”
WTA Rankings Boost
Raducanu slipped six places to No 39 in the WTA Rankings after the Canadian Open, but she has now moved a projected five-place jump in the Live Rankings with her opening-round win, which puts her on the cusp of being seeded at the US Open with the top-32 players receiving the honour.
The Cincinnati Open is the cutoff event for the US Open seedings, but there is bad news for Raducanu as she faces world No 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the second round.
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Sabalenka kicked off her title defence with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
“It’s always a tough match against her,” Sabalenka said. “[Vondrousova] always pushes me to the limit. You have to stay focused, and you have to fight for every point against her.”
It will be Sabalenka and Raducanu’s second meeting in just over a month as they produced a thrilling fourth-round match at Wimbledon and it was the former who emerged with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
The three-time Grand Slam winner also won their only other encounter at the 2024 Indian Wells Open as she defeated the British No 1 7-3, 7-5.
Raducanu sits on 1,426 points in the Live Rankings and if she wins her next match she will move to 1,481, which will result in a bump up to No 31.
The winner of the Sabalenka-Raducanu encounter will face either Jessica Bouzas Maneiro or Taylor Townsend in the fourth round.