Emma Raducanu is confident she is on the right path to rediscovering the form that saw her claim a fairytale US Open victory four years ago.

The British No 1 will play world No 130 Ena Shibahara in the very first match of this year’s tournament at 4pm on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Tennis, seeking her first victory in New York since claiming the title in 2021.

Within two years of that historic victory, an injury-plagued Raducanu had dropped outside the top 300 in the world, but has enjoyed a positive season in 2025, boosted further in recent weeks by the appointment of new coach Francisco Roig.

She will begin this year’s US Open campaign ranked 35th, and in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, she says she is ready to win again.

“Playing first match, first day, the very start of the tournament… I’m looking forward to it.

“I’m ready. I’ve been practising well, and I think regardless of the result, I know that overall, I’m doing the right things more and more day to day.

“It will come together eventually. It might not be next week, but I know it’s coming.”

If she overcomes Shibahara, Raducanu faces a potential tough second-round clash with 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova and then possibly world No 10 Elena Rybakina in the third round.

Emma Raducanu’s projected US Open draw

R1 – Shibahara

R2 – V Kudermetova

R3 – Rybakina

R4 – Paolini/Kessler/Vondrousova

QF – Sabalenka/Tauson

SF – Pegula/Andreeva/Mboko/Bencic

F – Swiatek/Gauff/Keys/Anisimova

Raducanu is frustrated that she missed out on being seeded in New York by just one place, but is confident she can compete with the best players in the world.

“I obviously wanted to be seeded here at the US Open,” she said.

“I think I was one spot out, maybe the highest-ranked unseeded player.

“Everything, in a way, I feel happens for a reason. I was seeded in Cincinnati, and I played Aryna [Sabalenka] third round, so it doesn’t really matter.

“You can be a low seed, and you can be put with the No 1 or 2 seeds. It is complete luck of the draw.

“I know that with what I’m doing, I just need to focus on my own stuff, my own game, and then take it to whoever I’m playing as best as I can.”

Sabalenka clashes ‘reaffirm’ Raducanu’s belief

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Highlights of the third round match between Aryna Sabalenka and Raducanu at the Cincinnati Open

Raducanu’s point was proven last week when she took world No 1 Sabalenka all the way to a deciding tie-break in Cincinnati, just weeks after a competitive third-round defeat to the same player at Wimbledon.

And she insists those performances prove she is on the right track to deliver more victories.

“I definitely got closer the last time we played in Cincinnati.

“I think it’s really helped playing the No 1 player in the world and pushing her, so it gives me confidence.

“But what also gives me confidence is the work I’m doing behind the scenes, and then to see that translate and reaffirm the work I’m doing is really comforting.”

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Take a look back at Raducanu’s incredible win at the 2021 US Open. Can she do it again this year?

The appointment of experienced Spaniard Roig, who previously worked with Rafael Nadal, as permanent coach has been seen as one of the key factors in Raducanu’s improvement after a period without a permanent mentor.

A succession of coaches have come and gone since Raducanu stunned the world at Flushing Meadows in 2021, and she has praised Roig’s ability to balance hard work and fun on the practice court.

“I think we get on really well. I think we fit great,” she added.

“He is obviously so experienced and we’ve been doing a lot of hours on the practice court, which I think has been helping me.

“We both like spending time on the court, which is also a good thing, but also he knows when to have fun, when to switch off, and that’s important.

“It’s not just constant seriousness. We work hard, but we also laugh.”

Raducanu relaxed after ‘real negativity’

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Speaking ahead of the US Open, former champion Emma Raducanu suggests she wasn’t ready for the ‘world of negativity’ that her win in 2021 would create

One thing that Roig cannot offer Raducanu is the ability to erase the experiences of the last four years.

Still only 22 years old, Raducanu says she has been through “real negativity” since her famous triumph and will never be able to regain the mindset she had when she won this Grand Slam as a teenager.

“That Emma didn’t really go through anything,” she said as she looked back on herself as an 18-year-old.

“So in a way, it was very inexperienced, but it helped me.

“I didn’t know any real negativity, any of what could have potentially come and did come.

“So now I don’t think I’ll ever go back to that exact state of mind, but I think I’m honestly feeling pretty close in the sense of just coming into this tournament relaxed but enthusiastic and excited to get started.

“Amidst everything in the first-round nerves, I feel as relaxed as I can be.”

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