Emma Raducanu has just recorded one of her best wins this year, having brushed aside Naomi Osaka to reach the Washington Open quarter-finals.
In doing so, she has successfully defended her ranking points from last year’s run, and should she beat Maria Sakkari, she will be well on track to secure a seeded spot at the US Open.
This marks the result of many months of hard work, with the youngster having finally found some consistency in both her form and fitness.
The stability from her coaching box has certainly aided that too, even if Mark Petchey still might have to split with Raducanu.
Naturally, reporters clamoured to get her post-match assessment of her 6-4, 6-2 win, with one seeking to find out where she felt her best improvement had been.
Emma Raducanu rates her game after her Naomi Osaka win
Speaking to the press after her truly impressive win over Naomi Osaka last night, Emma Raducanu was understandably, and rather justifiably, delighted with her game.
After all, she had just dispatched a former world number one and four-time Grand Slam champion with minimal fuss, in two very routine sets.
Asked about what she felt like her biggest improvement has been of late, the 22-year-old began by noting: “I think I have just been doing a lot of work consistently, just putting a lot of tennis in. Sometimes, even if you don’t feel good when you’re practising because you’re doing a lot of hours and you don’t feel like you’re really pushing, it’s all kind of hours banked.
“I’m also doing, I think, a lot more focused work, and also, I think I’m serving better, and that helps a lot. I think I always returned pretty decent, but the element of just when I serve well, it does add another dimension to my game. I’m able to kind of start the points better and look for my forehand and get that into play a bit more and then dictate.”
Then encouraged to expand on what she meant by ‘focused work’, Raducanu continued: “I think on the court a lot more. Just, yeah, a bit more… I think I have done a lot of groundwork now, and I’m just trying to work on cementing the basics a lot, particular shots, just working on as well from the back of the court. Yeah, it’s paying off on these courts.”
Emma Raducanu now has no points to defend before the US Open
As mentioned earlier, Raducanu has successfully defended her Washington Open ranking points, as she lost at the quarter-final stage last year to Paula Badosa.
In 2024, she then went on to skip Toronto, before choosing against trying to qualify for Cincinnati after she was snubbed for a wildcard.
So, after this event, she went straight into the US Open, and therefore has 0 points to defend at the next two Masters 1000 events.
All it would take is a string of two or three wins in both events to ensure she is guaranteed a strong seeded spot for the final Grand Slam of the year.
Raducanu is coming into form at the perfect time.
