Emma Raducanu has enjoyed a big surge up the WTA rankings as the British No. 2 continues to bounce back after a tough couple of years. The 22-year-old has been rewarded for reaching the quarter-final of the Miami Open in her best set of performances of the year so far.
Raducanu recorded four victories in Florida before her defeat against Jessica Pegula in the last eight. The 2021 US Open champion had television commentator and her former coach Mark Petchey on her team, navigating the tournament without a full-time coach. Raducanu has pledged to re-evaluate her plan going forward, having rinsed through eight coaches during her career.
Her success has seen her climb 12 places in the world rankings and into the top 50 at No. 48. Raducanu is now only nine places behind British No. 1 Katie Boulter, who has dropped four places.
Aryna Sabalenka continues to dominate the WTA and remains the world No. 1 after winning in Miami. She has broken the 10,000-point threshold for the first time and looks set to stay ahead of her rivals heading into a busy summer. Iga Swiatek is at No. 2, while Coco Gauff is third.
For Raducanu, entering the top 50 marks a tremendous achievement after a tough couple of years. In mid-2023, she underwent surgery on both wrists and her right ankle. A series of subsequent niggling injuries ruined her attempts to climb the rankings last year.
Having climbed as high as 10th in 2022, Raducanu will be keen to go even higher than No. 48. In positive news, she revealed that he had been feeling happier and more relaxed both professionally and personally. “Despite losing, I can take some good positives from this week and look forward,” Raducanu said.
“I think I just need to take a beat and kind of reevaluate what I’m doing. This week it was good but I need to kind of just figure things out and then I’ll make a plan from there. Just feeling competitive, feeling happy, [and] relaxed on and off the court has been the biggest thing that I can take away and be happy about.
“I think just being able to switch off and have fun with them and play Spikeball before the match, and we just create certain routines. Yeah, they bring small doses of happiness that I guess just keep you going.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk