Emma Raducanu’s impressive form at the Transylvania Open has taken her into another WTA Tour quarter-final, with her win against Maja Chwalinska giving her a significant rankings boost.
Raducanu delivered a flawless 6-0 first-set performance and then had to fend off a more spirited display from Chwalinska in the second set, before she held her nerve to set up a glorious chance to reach her first WTA Tour level final.
Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova lies in wait for Raducanu in the semi-finals, with the world No 91 making it through to her first WTA Tour semi-final with a win against China’s Wang Xinyu.
The win against Chwalinska has already given Raducanu a significant rankings boost, as she is up to No 27 in the live rankings and win against Oliynykova in her next match will see her leap into the top 25 of the rankings for the first time since the points she won from her 2021 US Open win fell off her ranking a year later.
“I’m very happy with my performance,” said Raducanu. “I played a great match from the beginning, and I was so happy to have that start.
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“There’s always going to be moments of adversity that I need to overcome, and I did that well in the second set, so really proud of how I did that.
“Maja is a really tough opponent, moves so well, has great hand skills, so I’m really happy with how I overcame that challenge.”
She also looked ahead to her next match against Oliynykova and added: “I saw a little bit [of Oliynykova’s quarter-final win]. She was playing before me. I didn’t have much time last night to get ready for this one. I’m so focused on recovery – no matter how long each match is it takes a lot out of you, so I need to recover well.”
This is Raducanu’s first tournament since her split with coach Francisco Roig and she is living up to her word by taking a more aggressive approach with her baseline hitting.
The British No 1 suggested after her second round exit at the Australian Open that she was not happy with the tactics she was using, with Roig’s exit from her team confirmed a week later.
Now she is trying to get back to the game style that helped her to win the 2021 US Open and reach the latter stages of last year’s Miami Open, with former British No 1 Greg Rusedski backing her to find her own route to success.
Speaking on the latest edition of his Off Court with Greg podcast, Rusedski revealed his thoughts on what needs to come next for 23-year-old Raducanu.
“It sounded like she wasn’t clear what she wanted to do on the court and I don’t think she was 100per-cent healthy going into the Australian Open because we saw slices, we saw drop shots being used,” reflected Rusedski.
“There wasn’t always that clarity at the big moment. When she won the US Open and burst on the scene and won the tournament, she was super aggressive.
“There wasn’t a case of trying to add that variety into her game, but there was clarity at the big moment. She was going to play aggressively. She was going to go after it.
“And I think she’s got to get back to where she was with that sort of mentality and approach to her game. This is where when you’re coaching someone, it’s a really tricky balance because you’ve got to add layers to their game.
“But the player has to be confident to add those layers in practice sets and then bring it into a match. But when push comes to shove, your natural character has to come in.
“So when I watched her play Potapova, I was looking at some of the shot selection, thinking to myself, is that the right shot, that short slice or drop shot at these moments at times? And it’s those decision-making at the big moments that can make it.
“I’m still super positive on Emma. I still believe there’s a lot there, but let’s do it step by step. You know, she’s done the hardest thing first, winning the US Open. And all the pressure and expectation went on her. You know, let’s try to win a WTA Tour title at the lowest level and build up from there.
“It’s a game of building and getting the joy back for a game. So I’m still super positive about Emma. I still think she has a very bright future ahead of her. If she can be 100 % healthy and get the right sort of love back to the game, there’s no reason why there can’t be great results there. So I’m on the positive side for Emma.”
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