US Open 2025: Emma Raducanu ‘happy’ with performances ahead of third round test against Elena Rybakina
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British No.1 Emma Raducanu has arguably had one of the best start to the 2025 US Open of any player, with the former champion now set to face another Grand Slam winner in the third round.
The stats from Raducanu’s opening round wins against Ena Shibahara and Janice Tjen speak for themselves – just six games lost, eight breaks of serve and over 78% (55/70) points won on her first serve.
After a blistering 6-1, 6-2 win over Tjen in just over an hour on Wednesday, Raducanu was full of confidence from the way she managed to navigate what could have been a tricky match.
“I'm particularly happy, because on the court, I felt like my opponent was playing really good tennis,” the 23-year-old said after the match.
“I thought that she was very dangerous and any ball that I put midcourt was going to be punished. So I'm very pleased with how I kept dictating the points, I kept dictating the play and didn't let her too often get her front foot on the court.”
A particularly impressive element of her game, which seems to have levelled up over this year’s hard-court swing, has been her serve.
Raducanu was dominant throughout the match against Tjen – hitting eight aces and landing 79% of her first serves in to keep her opponent under pressure from the word go.
The British star has credited her impressive performances so far to the time spent on the practice court recently honing her skills and building confidence.
“I thought that I served very well, and yeah, I put quite a few aces on the board today,” she added. “It always helps me when I'm serving well. It just kind of seeps into the rest of my game.
“I have been practicing a lot. After my last match I went onto the courts for another hour, and then two hours the first day off and just an hour yesterday.
“After the first round I felt like there were just a few things I could do better, I could keep and maintain, because maintaining is another thing. I think I'm playing pretty well, but to kind of keep that level it takes a lot of work, as well.
“I think doing the right things off court, preparing well, warming up, doing all the professional things, I have been better at that.
“I have also put a lot more load through my body, so when I'm playing these tough matches, I don't think my body is as shocked because I'm doing probably more on the practice court. I think just weeks and months of doing that and accumulating the kind of load has helped me kind of stay, for the most part, injury-free.”
Now through to the third round for only the second time in her career, after her historic title run in 2021, Raducanu knows that there are tougher tasks ahead – few more so than her next opponent.
The British star is set to face off against former Wimbledon champion and world No.10 Elena Rybakina, who came into New York as one of the in-form players from the last few months.
Raducanu is no stranger to playing the big matches and has recently pushed world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka close at Wimbledon and Cincinnati, and the world No.36 is ready for the challenge.
I do want to see how my game suits and fits against the top. I still think I have a long way to go, but I think I have been making steps towards getting closer and narrowing that gap.
“I think she's a top opponent,” Raducanu said. “She's won Wimbledon. She's been at the top of the game for so long and very dominant and has big weapons, has a huge serve and big groundstrokes.
“I do want to see how my game suits and fits against the top. I still think I have a long way to go, but I think I have been making steps towards getting closer and narrowing that gap.
"I think I have to take confidence from my matches against Aryna in Cincy and Wimby, but Elena is a different opponent. She beat Aryna in Cincy in straight sets. It's going to be a tough match but yeah, we'll see on the result.”
Emma Raducanu vs Elena Rybakina preview
Raducanu and Rybakina come into their third round clash as two players who have starred during the US hard-court swing this year.
Raducanu made the semi-final of the Citi Open in Washington back in July, before picking up some impressive wins during third round runs at WTA 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, Rybakina has made the semi-finals at all three events, with standout victories over Sabalenka, Madison Keys, Elise Mertens and Marta Kostyuk.
The 26-year-old Kazakh has won nine WTA titles in her career, including Wimbledon in 2020, Indian Wells (2023), Rome (2023, Abu Dhabi (2024) and most recently Strasbourg (2025).
So far, Rybakina has won 43 matches this season and boasts the highest percentage of first serve points won across the tour (73.7%).
Raducanu is currently back up at No.36 in the world and is enjoying one of the best seasons of her career. She’ll be looking to claim the joint biggest win of her season against Rybakina - having beaten Emma Navarro in Miami whilst also ranked as the world No.10.
Raducanu and Rybakina are set to face off on Friday 29 August with the full schedule still to be confirmed.
You can watch the match live exclusively on Sky Spots Tennis and NOW TV.
