Emma Raducanu has pulled off a major coup as she has appointed one of Rafael Nadal’s former mentors as her coach until the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean she has stopped working with Mark Petchey.

2021 US Open winner Raducanu has added Francisco Roig to her coaching set-up following a successful trial period after Wimbledon and he will be in her player’s box at this week’s Cincinnati Open.

The 57-year-old, of course, comes with a lot of pedigree as he is not only a former player as he peaked at No 60 in the ATP Rankings, but he also worked alongside all-time great Nadal for nearly 20 years.

Roig was part of Nadal’s team from 2005 until 2022 and he first worked alongside Toni Nadal and later Carlos Moya, acting as alternate coach.

During his time with the team, Nadal won 22 Grand Slams, including a record 14 French Open titles, became world No 1 and was part of the Big Three with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer who dominated tennis for more than two decades.

After ending his working relationship with Nadal, Roig started working with Matteo Berrettini in December 2023 before they parted ways in October 2024.

Although the appointment of Roig came out of the blue, the decision to get a new coach is not a big surprise as both Raducanu and Petchey admitted that she needed a full-time mentor.

Petchey started working with the 22-year-old in March and they have enjoyed incredible results as she has climbed back into the top 35 of the WTA Rankings, having started the year at No 60 while she has also reached the semi-finals of the Washington DC Open in July.

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But Petchey has not been able to accompany her to all tournaments due to his tennis commentary role as he admitted a few weeks ago: “I have some other commitments I can’t get out of. Look, we are very aware she needs a second coach to come in on board, and maybe just one coach, not me as well.

“All I am trying to do here is try to facilitate the best possible environment for Emma to produce the tennis that she can, whether that involves me or doesn’t involve me, it’s really not a question I’m worried about.

“It just means we are trying to find something that is going to be really stable and good for her.”

And they now have settled on that second set of hands with Roig’s first assignment the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open where Raducanu will be seeded, meaning she gets a bye in the first round.

Petchey will not completely disappear as he will remain a close confidant of Raducanu.

But for Raducanu, Roig joins the long list of coaches she has worked with since she made her breakthrough in 2021 as she has worked with Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday, Vladimir Platenik and Petchey.

Some were only on a trial basis while others were with her slightly longer, but there will be some stability until at least the end of 2025 as Roig will be part of the team for the next four months.

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Novak Djokovic has sparked injury concern after withdrawing from the 2025 Cincinnati Masters for a second consecutive year.

The former world No 1 was due to return to the tour at the seventh Masters 1000 event of the season, having previously withdrawn from the Canadian Masters.

Djokovic also withdrew from both events in 2024, but was coming off a successful post-Wimbledon run at the Paris Olympic Games – which provided him with six extra matches.

The tennis legend’s most recent match was a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat to world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of Wimbledon, marking a fifth-consecutive loss to the Italian.

Most worryingly, Djokovic suffered a nasty slip at the end of his quarter-final clash against Flavio Cobolli, a match prior.

During his encounter against Sinner, the Serb looked heavily compromised in the second half of the match, unable to utilise his signature defensive repertoire.

“Honestly, wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court,” he commented, during his post-match press conference.

“I don’t want to talk, in details, about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best. I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance. That’s it. He’s in the finals. He was too strong.

“I do feel, yeah, disappointed that I just wasn’t able to move as well as I thought or hoped that I would.

“I don’t think it’s bad fortune. It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest.

“It’s tough for me to accept that because I feel like when I’m fresh, when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year.

“But yeah, I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes, yeah, the worse the condition gets.

“I reach the final stages, I reach the semis of every slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz. These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that.

“It is what it is, you know? It’s one of these things I accept and embrace in some way, deal with the reality the way it is, and try to make the most out of it, I guess.”

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The withdrawal means that Djokovic will enter the US Open without any hard-court preparation, having not played a match for around 44 days by the time that the event begins.

Despite the highly-unusual situation, the Serb has a stunning record at the season’s last Grand Slam.

Overall, he has reached the showpiece match on ten occasions, winning four such matches.

Djokovic has also won 90 out of his 104 matches – an 87% win rate.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion’s most recent campaign ended with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat to Alexei Popyrin in the third round, which was his earliest loss since 2006.

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The Cincinnati Open is just days away, with main-draw action beginning at the prestigious ATP and WTA 1000 event on Thursday.

The men’s singles draw is set to feature many of the biggest stars of the ATP Tour, with the event not ravaged by withdrawals in the same way the ongoing Canadian Open was.

Here, we take you through the Cincinnati Open men’s singles entry list.

Who is out?

Though the event has not suffered as many withdrawals as Toronto, there are still a few notable absences from the tournament.

The highest-ranked player to withdraw is world No 5 Jack Draper, who will not be in action until the US Open after sustaining an injury at Wimbledon.

Elsewhere, both Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz are out of Cincinnati amid potentially lengthy spells on the sidelines, with Alexander Bublik and Matteo Berrettini also withdrawing.

Jenson Brooksby has also pulled out after initially receiving a wildcard into the event.

And, it has now been confirmed that Novak Djokovic will again skip the event, focusing his efforts on the US Open.

The top seeds

Having withdrawn from the Canadian Open, world No 1 Jannik Sinner and No 2 Carlos Alcaraz are set to return to action for the first time since they contested the Wimbledon final.

Sinner enters as the defending champion after his 2024 triumph, while Alcaraz will look to triumph for the first time after defeat in the 2023 final.

The pair will be the first and second seeds, respectively, with world No 3 Alexander Zverev and world No 4 Taylor Fritz set to be the third and fourth seeds.

Ben Shelton is set to be the fifth seed, with Alex de Minaur currently seeded sixth, Holger Rune seventh, and Lorenzo Musetti eighth.

Who else is in action?

Outside of the top eight seeds, there are plenty of big names set to compete – with the race to seal a top-eight seeding for the upcoming US Open well and truly on.

Ninth seed Andrey Rublev will look for big results to boost their hopes of returning to the top eight, though 10th seed Frances Tiafoe has Cincinnati runner-up points to defend from last summer.

Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev, seeded 11th and 12th as things stand, will both look for a return to form, with Tommy Paul, Karen Khachanov, Flavio Cobolli, and Jakub Mensik rounding out the top 16 seeds.

Lorenzo Sonego is currently the 32nd and final seed, with Cameron Norrie just missing out as things stand.

Nick Kyrgios is currently entered into the tournament using his protected ranking, with home favourites Ethan Quinn, Mackenzie McDonald, and Brandon Holt among those receiving wildcards.

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Full entry list (as of August 4, 2025)

1) Jannik Sinner
2) Carlos Alcaraz
3) Alexander Zverev
4) Taylor Fritz
5) Ben Shelton
6) Alex de Minaur
7) Holger Rune
8) Lorenzo Musetti
9) Andrey Rublev
10) Frances Tiafoe
11) Casper Ruud
12) Daniil Medvedev
13) Tommy Paul
14) Karen Khachanov
15) Flavio Cobolli
16) Jakub Mensik
17) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
18) Arthur Fils
19) Tomas Machac
20) Ugo Humbert
21) Francisco Cerundolo
22) Alexei Popyrin
23) Jiri Lehecka
24) Felix Auger-Aliassime
25) Denis Shapovalov
26) Stefanos Tsitsipas
27) Tallon Griekspoor
28) Brandon Nakashima
29) Alex Michelsen
30) Luciano Darderi
31) Gabriel Diallo
32) Lorenzo Sonego
Cameron Norrie
Alexandre Muller
Matteo Arnaldi
Nuno Borges
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Jordan Thompson
Sebastian Baez
Corentin Moutet
Camilo Ugo Carabelli
Gael Monfils
Joao Fonseca
Miomir Kecmanovic
Jaume Munar
Zizou Bergs
Roberto Bautista Agut
Damir Dzumhur
Jacob Fearnley
Fabian Marozsan
Daniel Altmaier
Marcos Giron
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Learner Tien
Aleksandar Kovacevic
Arthur Rinderknech
David Goffin
Benjamin Bonzi
Kei Nishikori
Pedro Martinez
Quentin Halys
Laslo Djere
Francisco Comesana
Mattia Bellucci
Hamad Medjedovic
Reilly Opelka
Yunchaokete Bu
Christopher O’Connell
Vit Kopriva
Roman Safiullin
Roberto Carballes Baena
Borna Coric
Juncheng Shang
Hugo Dellien
(WC) Ethan Quinn
(WC) Mackenzie McDonald
(WC) Nicolas Jarry
(WC) Brandon Holt
(PR) Sebastian Ofner
(PR) Nick Kyrgios
Qualifying places tbc

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The second WTA 1000 event of the North American hard-court season will take place in Cincinnati, and there will be some high-profile absentees.

This will be the 97th edition of the women’s tournament in Mason, Ohio, which is staged at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.

The 2025 Cincinnati Open will be a 12-day event held from August 7-18, having been held over a week in previous editions.

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka is the reigning champion in Cincinnati and she will play for the first time since her Wimbledon semi-final exit, having skipped the Canadian Open.

How many players will feature in the main draw of the 2025 Cincinnati Open?

With the new 12-day format, the singles main draw for the Cincinnati Open has increased from 56 players to 96 players for both the women’s and men’s tournaments.

Of the 96 players in the WTA draw, there will be 72 direct entrants, 16 qualifiers and eight wildcards.

Have any big-name players withdrawn?

Three top 10 players have pulled out of Cincinnati due to injuries: Mirra Andreeva, Qinwen Zheng and Paula Badosa.

Lois Boisson, Ons Jabeur, Alex Eala and Petra Kvitova are the other women who have withdrawn.

Which players have received wildcards?

Two of the six women’s wildcard recipients have been announced, and they are both American: Caty McNally and Venus Williams.

Williams, a 45-year-old who is a seven-time major singles champion and former world No 1, won her first match in over a year in Washington last month.

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Who are the former champions in the main draw?

Three former Cincinnati champions will compete: Sabalenka (2024), Coco Gauff (2023) and Madison Keys (2019).

Have any players used a special ranking to enter?

Players who have been unable to compete in any tournaments due to injury or pregnancy for a minimum of six months are eligible to use the WTA protected ranking system.

The rule allows players to use the ranking they held at the time of their absence to enter eight tournaments, or 12 if they missed more than a year.

Bianca Andreescu, Marketa Vondrousova, Sorana Cirstea, Anastasija Sevastova, Lin Zhu and Wang Yafan have all entered Cincinnati using a special ranking.

Why Emma Raducanu will be seeded

Emma Raducanu has dropped to 38th in the Live WTA Rankings, but she is set to be seeded 30th at the Cincinnati Open.

This is because the latest edition of the WTA Rankings, which were published last week, are used to determine seedings in Cincinnati.

Since Raducanu’s ranking of world No 33 is used, the 22-year-old Brit will be seeded 30th due to the withdrawals of Andreeva, Zheng and Badosa.

2025 WTA Cincinnati Entry List

1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Coco Gauff
3. Iga Swiatek
4. Jessica Pegula
5. Amanda Anisimova
6. Madison Keys
7. Jasmine Paolini
8. Emma Navarro
9. Elena Rybakina
10. Elina Svitolina
11. Karolina Muchova
12. Ekaterina Alexandrova
13. Liudmila Samsonova
14. Diana Shnaider
15. Daria Kasatkina
16. Clara Tauson
17. Belinda Bencic
18. Beatriz Haddad Maia
19. Elise Mertens
20. Linda Noskova
21. Leylah Fernandez
22. Magdalena Frech
23. Jelena Ostapenko
24. Sofia Kenin
25. Marta Kostyuk
26. Ashlyn Krueger
27. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
28. Anna Kalinskaya
29. McCartney Kessler
30. Emma Raducanu
31. Magda Linette
32. Dayana Yastremska
Yulia Putintseva
Rebecca Sramkova
Barbora Krejcikova
Peyton Stearns
Olga Danilovic
Donna Vekic
Xinyu Wang
Suzan Lamens
Maya Joint
Greet Minnen
Katie Boulter
Anastasia Potapova
Maria Tatjana
Veronika Kudermetova
Lulu Sun
Marie Bouzkova
Elina Avanesyan
Kimberly Birrell
Sonay Kartal
Jaqueline Cristian
Naomi Osaka
Danielle Collins
Hailey Baptiste
Renata Zarazua
Camila Osorio
Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Yuliia Starodubtseva
Alycia Parks
Eva Lys
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
Lucia Bronzetti
Polina Kudermetova
Ann Li
Moyuka Uchijima
Caroline Dolehide
Wang Yafan (SR)
Marketa Vondrousova (SR)
Sorana Cirstea (SR)
Lin Zhu (SR)
Bianca Andreescu (SR)
Anastasija Sevastova (SR)
Cats McNally (WC)
Venus Williams (WC)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)

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Victoria Mboko has been one of the most successful rising stars of 2025.

Aged only 18, the Canadian has embarked on a string of big runs this season, starting with reaching the third round of her debut Grand Slam event at the French Open.

Now, Mboko is attracting further attention by reaching the last eight of a WTA 1000 event for the first time, on home soil at the Canadian Open.

After stunning world No 2 Coco Gauff in the round of 16, Mboko has cemented her place as one to watch in the future.

And, her rise is being masterminded by Nathalie Tauziat, a woman who has found success as both a player and a coach in recent decades.

Who is Nathalie Tauziat?

One of the most accomplished French players of the Open Era, Tauziat found success in both singles and doubles across her career.

In a career that spanned almost two decades, Tauziat won eight WTA Tour titles and reached a further 14 finals, including at Wimbledon in 1998.

The French star shocked second seed Lindsay Davenport in the last eight and battled past Natasha Zvereva in the semi-final, before falling to Jana Novotna in the championship match.

Tauziat reached a further four quarter-finals at the All England Club and was a 1991 French Open and 2000 US Open quarter-finalist.

She called time on her singles career in 2001, having reached a career-high of world No 3 in 2000, with former world No 1 Amelie Mauresmo the only French woman ever to be ranked higher.

Tauziat also reached world No 3 in the doubles rankings, winning 25 tour-level titles and reaching a further 32 finals in her career.

She was a finalist alongside Kimberly Po at the 2001 US Open and reached a further six doubles Grand Slam semi-finals.

Coaching career

Towards the end of her doubles career in 2003, Tauziat took on a brief mentorship role with then-rising star Marion Bartoli, a future Wimbledon champion and top-10 player.

However, the 57-year-old has spent a large chunk of her coaching career working within Canadian tennis, guiding a range of rising Canadian stars.

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Tauziat guided Eugenie Bouchard to the junior Wimbledon title in 2012 and also coached the Canadian to her first tour final at the 2013 Japan Women’s Open, before parting ways at the end of the year.

She then worked with Aleksandra Wozniak for a short spell from the end of 2013, before turning her attention back towards working with an array of junior stars.

Tauziat helped guide Bianca Andreescu to the junior world No 1 ranking in 2017, just two years before Andreescu became the nation’s first Grand Slam champion at the 2019 US Open.

The pair had parted ways in 2018, but Tauziat has remained a key figure in the Canadian setup and was part of the coaching team during Canada’s historic Billie Jean King Cup triumph in 2023.

Her work with Mboko began at the start of 2025, with the 18-year-old having soared up the WTA Rankings since then.

Having been ranked outside of the top 300 when starting to work with Tauziat, Mboko is now comfortably inside the world’s top 100.

The teen star won 22 straight matches and four consecutive ITF titles early on in 2025, and reached both the third round of Roland Garros and the second round of Wimbledon.

Speaking to Tennis Canada during her Grand Slam debut at the French Open in May, Mboko spoke about the impact Tauziat had on her career.

“I really love Nathalie,” said the 18-year-old.

“We have a lot of fun together and she’s known me for a really long time. With Nathalie, it’s very relaxed on court – she obviously has a lot of knowledge.

“The only thing is that she has so much knowledge that whenever I come at her…she’s like: ‘here.’ She’s already there. She’s really helped me and I’m grateful she’s spending this time with me.”

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Clara Tauson’s stellar victory against Iga Swiatek at the 2025 Canadian Open saw her become the fifth player to accomplish a formidable feat in 2025.

The world No 19 downed Swiatek, the No 2 seed, 7-6(1), 6-3 in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal.

Tauson ended Swiatek’s nine-match winning streak that included her Wimbledon title run. It avenged Tauson’s 4-6, 1-6 defeat to the 24-year-old Pole in the last 16 at the All England Club last month.

The Dane’s triumph was her fifth career top 10 win and second against a top five opponent — after she beat world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai in February.

She is the fifth player to defeat both Sabalenka and Swiatek in 2025 after Madison Keys, Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff and Jelena Ostapenko.

Asked how she felt in her on-court interview, Tauson said: “Unreal. Totally unreal.”

On her strategy, she said: “Yeah, I don’t know. I was playing good tennis in tough conditions here with the wind, but yeah, I really tried my best to keep my head cool and keep working, even though I got broken in the second set.

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“I was feeling confident and I’m really happy about the win.”

Tauson added: “I just felt like after I won the first set that I needed to continue, because I know she’s never going to give up, and she’s going to come out firing no matter what.

“I think obviously getting a win against her after losing to her in Wimbledon and a couple of weeks ago is obviously nice, because I was not feeling great in that match, and I felt like I was playing some good tennis in Wimbledon. So I felt like if I could keep that going, I thought I had a shot.”

Tauson’s run to the last eight in Canada has lifted her two places to a projected new career-high position of 17th in the Live WTA Rankings.

The 22-year-old will face world No 8 and Australian Open winner Madison Keys in the quarter-finals in Montreal.

She is chasing her fourth and biggest career title, having secured her three to date at WTA 250 level.

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Jannik Sinner’s lead at the top of the ATP Rankings may be commanding for now, but he will need to continue his flawless form if he is to avoid a nail-biting race to finish 2025 at the top.

Sinner has arrived in Cincinnati as he prepares to play his first tournament since winning Wimbledon in convincing fashion by beating his big rival Carlos Alcaraz last month.

Sinner and Alcaraz were among the big names who opted to skip playing in this week’s ATP 1000 tournament in Toronto in favour of an extended break after the grass court season, but the trio are expected to be in action in what will be the final big warm-up tournament ahead of this month’s US Open.

The sight of Sinner practicing in Cincinnati on Sunday confirmed he was eager to get acclimatised to conditions early, as he may not play his first match in the tournament until next weekend.

He had been practicing in Monte-Carlo prior to flying to America and footage of him applying new grips to his racket were posted by Cincinnati tournament officials as he took to the courts ahead of the defence of the title he won last year.

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Sinner’s return to Cincinnati will doubtless give him some flashbacks from this time last year, as he won the tournament shortly before the world discovered he had tested positive in a doping test a few months earlier.

The last 12 months have seen Sinner win three Grand Slams, cement his status as world No 1 and also serve a three-month suspension following that positive test.

Now he is facing a crucial few weeks as he will be defending 5,800 ranking points between now and the end of 2025.

If those points were taken off his total now, Sinner would lose his world No 1 status and would be close to dropping down to No 3.

Morning chores for defending champion @janniksin pic.twitter.com/nlp8y4Cm8y

— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 3, 2025

That scenario is unlikely to be a concern as the prospect of hard court king Sinner drawing a blank as he looks to defend his titles in Cincinnati, as well as at the US Open, the Shanghai Masters and the ATP Finals in Italy in November.

If Sinner does not retain all those titles, his ranking points total will drop and the biggest threat to his dominance will come from Alcaraz.
The Spaniard has just 1,050 ranking points to defend after he endured an inconsistent finish to 2024, so that gives him a big chance to make up ground on Sinner.

Sinner currently has a 3,430 lead in the rankings from Alcaraz and while he is a strong favourite to finish this year as world No 1, a dip in form or an injury could derail his ambitions in double quick time.

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Victoria Mboko is one of the fastest rising players in the women’s game and she confirmed her status as a star of the future with a thrilling win against Coco Gauff at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal.

The 18-year-old Canadian was ranked at No 284 at the end of 2024, but she is on track to climb into the top 50 over the next few weeks as her thrilling form continues.

Her 6-1, 6-4 win against Gauff was sealed in just 62 minutes and she now has a big chance to climb up the WTA Rankings as she plays in tournaments she would not have qualified to compete in a year ago.

“It’s incredible,” she said on court after her victory. “I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.

“Coming into the match, I was so locked in. I tried to keep my composure as much as I could, especially playing in front of so many people. This is a very special experience for me.”

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Mboko is now the talk of the tennis world and the sponsorship offers will start to roll in for a player who is clearly operating at a higher level than her current ranking suggests.

The WTA Race is the rolling ranking for the calendar year and Mboko is No 68 in that ranking.

She is also up to No 23 in the UTR Rankings, which uses a different method to calculate the form and ranking of players.

While the WTA Rankings are based around a rolling 52-week points tally, the UTR Rating reflects current form and uses an algorithm to serve up it’s top ten list.

Victories against higher-ranked players are worth more in the UTR list than the official ATP or WTA Ranking, meaning they offer a more accurate reflection of the current form at the top of the game.

The UTR Rankings are based on the current form from the last few weeks and months rather than reflecting results that occurred up to a year ago, with the system created to promote fair and competitive play across the tennis world.

All players, regardless of age, gender, geography, or skill level, are rated on the same scale between 1.00 and 16.50 based on actual match results.

The UTR Ranking is open to players of all levels of the game and the algorithm used provides an intriguing insight to the current form of the top players in the game.

As wins against higher-ranked opponents are given extra reward in the UTR Ranking, Mboko’s win against the current UTR-ranked No 1 player Gauff will have given her a huge boost.

Mboko will now be keen to continue to build her momentum heading into the US Open, where she is set to make her debut.

This time last year, Mboko was playing in lower-ranked events on the ITF’s World Tennis Tour, but she has arrived in the big time now and her performance against Gauff suggests she is here to stay.

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True sporting greats often have their motivation fuelled by a belief that the world has an agenda against them, but criticism seems to have an alternative impact on Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek.

Basketball legend Michael Jordan confirmed he was inspired to silence his critics and the same story is true of soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo and Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen.

Novak Djokovic has admitted on numerous occasions that he has been driven to silence doubters in the crowd or the media, but Swiatek has a very different personality and she takes criticism personally.

She was asking for the Polish media to treat her with more respect long before she tested positive in a doping test in August 2024 and that was the moment when an armoury of abuse was fully unleashed in her direction.

When it was revealed that she had tested positive for a banned substance after taking the sleeping drug melatonin, there was a mood of elation among some of her critics and that was especially the case on the often toxic social media platforms.

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Bad news seems to sell well when Swiatek is thrust into the spotlight and while she was ultimately proved to have done nothing wrong other than unwittingly taking a contaminated product, that has not stopped sniping suggesting she was lucky to win at Wimbledon at a time when she could have been banned from tennis.

Those making such claims do so without looking into her case, but Swiatek suggests she is used to such snipes as she has opened up on her emotional vulnerabilities in a series of interviews in recent months.

“For sure, the past months, how the media sometimes describe me – and I’ve got to say, unfortunately, Polish media, how they treated me and my team, it wasn’t really pleasant,” said Swiatek.

“I hope they will just leave me alone and let me do my job because obviously you can see that we know what we are doing, and I have the best people around me.

“I have already proved a lot. I know people want more and more, but it’s my own process and my own life and my own career.”

Questions over the relationship with her psychologist Daria Abramowicz have been among the more hurtful and there have also been numerous questions asked over what was perceived to be a failing relationship with coach Wim Fissette, who joined her team for the start of this season.

By her lofty standards, Swiatek’s form following her fourth French Open win in June 2024 through to her Wimbledon triumph last month was poor.

She went over a year without winning a title and looked out of sorts on her favoured clay courts, with a defeat against Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open ending her reign as the ‘Queen of Clay’ at Roland Garros.

Swiatek was forced to deny rumours she was set to take a break from tennis and skip Wimbledon before she roared back to top form to beat Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in a one-sided women’s final at the All England Club.

Now she is closing in on a return to the No 2 ranking and is starting to rebuild the aura that was such a big part of her armoury before her fall from grace.

It is hard to understand why a legend of the game who has now won six Grand Slam titles and needs to win the Australian Open to complete the full set of major titles continues to attract so much negativity.

Yet those critics have been silenced for now by a champion who has emerged from her toughest year to highlight he class all over again.

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Emma Raducanu is facing an uphill battle to secure a seeded position at the US Open after her comprehensive defeat against Amanda Anisimova at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal.

Anisimova hammered Radudanu 6-2, 6-1 in a defeat that will set alarm bells ringing for the Brit, who looked helpless as she was blown away in a match that was all over in a little over one hour.

Raducanu had beaten Anisimova in their previous two clashes in 2025, so she will have been shocked by the scale of the defeat against her friend and rival who reached the Wimbledon final last month.

Now Raducanu needs a strong run at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati later this month to have a chance to break into the top 32 of the rankings and secure a seeding for the final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open.

She may need to make it through to the quarter-finals in Cincinnati to get a seeded berth in New York, as that would give her 215 points.

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A last-16 appearance would be worth 120 points and that may also be enough if other players drop down the rankings.

She could also opt to play in the WTA Tour 250 event in Cleveland or the WTA 500 tournament in Monterrey the week before the US Open, if a seeded berth in New York is a driving ambition.

Being seeded would help Raducanu avoid the prospect of taking on players such as world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, newly crowned Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek or the in-form Anisimova in the opening couple of rounds at the US Open.

Raducanu doesn’t have any ranking points to defend over the next few weeks, as she did not play any tournaments ahead of the US Open last year due to some bizarre scheduling decisions.

Her reluctance to play in qualifying for big tournaments she did not qualify for on her ranking meant she headed into the US Open with limited match practice on US hard courts last year.

She predictably lost in the first round against Sofia Kenin, so she has a huge chance to gain plenty of ranking points over the next few weeks.

While she may now come up short of a seeding for the US Open, she could finish that tournament well inside the top 30 of the rankings if she has a good run of results in New York and according to former British No 1 Tim Henman, Raducanu is making progress in her career.

“This is not about the next four weeks for Emma, it’s about the next four years and where she can go,” Henman told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview.

“What is success? It is for her to get back into the top 30 or maybe the top 10? It’s about being the best version of yourself and maximising your potential.

“Now she has got a good team around her and I hope she sticks with it. Petch has been around the game for a long time and has been good for her.

“She has played lots of tournaments, been on court for a lot of matches and built up that physical resilience over what is a long season.

“I’m sure she will be licking some wounds after that defeat [against Swiatek] and the upside of finishing early at Roland Garros is she can put the clay court shoes away, head home and get ready for grass. I don’t have any concerns so long as she keeps on this path.”

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