HSBC Championships 2025: Emma Raducanu sprints into second round after dominant victory over Cristina Bucsa
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Emma Raducanu has joined a quartet of British players through to the second round of the HSBC Championships after dismantling Cristina Bucsa in her first singles match at The Queen's Club.
The British No.2 needed just over an hour to get the job done in West London, capping off her singles debut with a flawless 6-1, 6-2 victory to get her grass court campaign off on the perfect foot.
Raducanu had a summer to remember last year after she reached the semi-finals in Nottingham, quarter-finals in Eastbourne and the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Now ranked back inside the world's top 40 and stringing together some impressive runs at some of the biggest tournaments on the WTA Tour, Raducanu will be gunning to go one step further this year as she hunts down a maiden trophy on the surface.
“I was quite locked in today so I was very pleased with my performance,” Raducanu beamed in her on-court interview.
“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, it was my first time playing on this court at Queen’s in London and the support is incredible.
“I’m still trying to find my groove on this surface. There are certain shots that I feel like I’m still a little bit late on so I’m working on that. I knew today was going to be a really difficult match, I lost to Cristina earlier in the year so I was really trying to fight and make sure that didn’t happen again."
She now joins Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Heather Watson as the fourth Brit to reach the second round in the first women’s tennis event at the Queen’s Club in 52 years.
The atmosphere is buzzing all around this week with spectators celebrating the historic return of women’s tennis to The Queen’s Club and like many of the WTA stars competing this week, Raducanu is savouring every moment of the experience.
I was trying to fight and get myself into the second round because I really want to stay here playing at Queen’s as many matches as I possibly can.
“For us girls to have a tournament here finally after watching the TV and the men play is really nice.”
While it might’ve been her first singles match at The Queen’s Club, Raducanu had already got a feel for the courts yesterday after she teamed up with British No.1 Boulter to secure her maiden WTA doubles victory.
The former US Open champion stepped out onto the Andy Murray Arena and, it was clear she had her eyes set on one thing and one thing only - punching her ticket to the second round.
After escaping a tight third game, Raducanu went on to make her move early - converting her first break point with a delicate backhand volley at the net before backing it up with a hold to love.
It didn’t take long for a second break to follow, as the 22-year-old sprinted ahead to a one set lead in just 24 minutes.
She picked up where she left off in the second - sending home two forehand winners off the Bucsa serve to break immediately.
While the Brit was aggressive on the return, she was particularly impressive on serve - winning 72% (36/50) of points and facing just one break point across the match as she rattled through her service games unphased.
Another double break to the good and the chance to serve out the match, Raducanu sealed the win in style with a fiery backhand cross-court winner to send the British fans onto their feet.
The Brit is set to be back in doubles action with Boulter on Wednesday 11 June and will contest her second round match on Thursday. There, she could face a tougher challenger in the form of Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova, who beat reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the last match of the day.
Speaking on that match-up, Raducanu said, "It's a difficult match, I watched Rebecca beat Katie at Billie Jean King Cup last year and she played really, really well. I know I have a tough challenge on my hand, she loves low, fast balls so this surface probably suits her.
"I've got to enjoy the win for today and focus on my doubles tomorrow."
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