Emma Raducanu got her campaign at the China Open off to a flying start on Saturday and now she will be eyeing a chance to make a major rankings breakthrough by winning her next match against Jessica Pegula.
Seeded 30 for this event that has a field almost as big as a Grand Slam event, Raducanu received a bye in the first round and she hit the ground running as she moved into round three of the WTA 1000 event.
In her third career meeting against Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, she backed up her comfortable win against the Spaniard on the Queen’s Club grass courts in June by notching a 6-3 6-3 victory.
Raducanu saved six break points over the course of the match and her first serve percentage of 66 gave her a chance to fend off some of those threats.
This win fired her up to No 30 in the live WTA rankings, but it is what comes next that will excite Raducanu.
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Raducanu made the breakthrough in the eighth game, with Bucsa serving a double fault on break point and the 22-year-old extended her run of games to five to lead 2-0 in the second set.
It was a special win for Raducanu, who has Chinese roots and was eager to reference that after her win.
“Super difficult, Cristina was playing amazing,” she said on Sky Sports. “I’m very happy to have gotten over it and after a tough one last week to bounce back. I really want to do well here. I’m half Chinese so it’s great to come back here.”
The draw has not been kind to her in Beijing as she is facing No 5 seed Jessica Pegula next, but that his a match-up that should excite the British No 1.
Pegula was the first top 10 player Raducanu beat in her career when she saved match points and beat the American in front of her home fans in Eastbourne in the summer of 2024 and the duo contested a tight contest in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open earlier this year.
“When she’s playing at a top level, she belongs with the top players,” said Pegula. “I just think she struggled a little bit with injuries, but he is a great player when she is fit.
“It’s tough nowadays, the depth is so good. If you can’t really rack in those matches and play a lot and get those wins under your belt, it can be really difficult to keep that confidence.”
While Pegula’s solid consistency will test Raducanu, the American does not have the firepower on her shots to compare to the likes of Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, who have blasted Raducanu off court in Grand Slam events this year.
So she may be eyeing up a win that would secure her a major rankings boost as she looks to finish 2025 inside the top 32 of the rankings, which would ensure she is seeded for the Australian Open in January.
Getting past Pegula could open the draw for Raducanu, with world No 28 Marta Kostyuk a potential opponent for the winner of the Raducanu vs Pegula match.
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