Emma Raducanu has been the subject of much attention in recent weeks, but she let her tennis do the talking in a comprehensive opening win at the Transylvania Open on Monday.
World No 30 Raducanu was in strong form during a 6-0, 6-4 win over Greet Minnen in the opening round of the WTA 250 event, returning to winning ways after her disappointing second-round exit at the Australian Open.
It was also her first win since her coaching split from Francisco Roig, and the 23-year-old will now look to continue her run when she faces world No 97 Kaja Juvan in the second round.
Who is Kaja Juvan?
Though she is currently 97th in the WTA Rankings, Juvan has a career-high of world No 58, achieved back in June 2022.
That came shortly after the Slovenian reached the sole WTA Tour final of her career, falling in three sets to former world No 1 Angelique Kerber at the 2022 Strasbourg International.
Juvan also reached the third round of the Australian Open in 2021, of Wimbledon in 2021 and 2022, and of the US Open in 2023 — while twice reaching the second round of Roland Garros.
Long-recognised as a promising junior, the Slovenian won girls’ singles gold at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, and won the girls’ doubles event alongside close friend Iga Swiatek.
However, despite some promising Grand Slam displays during her career, Juvan’s senior career has been affected by two major setbacks.
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In 2023, the 25-year-old took two months off tour following the death of her father, Robert, who sadly passed away from cancer at the end of 2022.
Then, she missed almost the entirety of the 2024 season after being diagnosed with a functional neurological disorder, and had to rebuild her ranking — and career — when she returned to action.
Juvan finished 2024 ranked 599th in the world and returned to action at the Austin Open in March 2025, slowly but surely climbing back up the rankings across the season.
She finished as the runner-up to Naomi Osaka at the WTA 125 Saint-Malo in May 2025, and then beat Simona Waltert to win her first WTA 125 Challenger title in Ljubljana in September.
That was then followed by a second WTA 125 title in Samsun in October, with Juvan beating rising star Nikola Bartunkova in the final.
The 25-year-old also lifted the ITF Internazionali di Brescia in May 2025 and successfully qualified for Wimbledon in June, also competing in French Open and US Open qualifying during the summer.
2026 form
Ranked just outside the top 100 at the start of 2026, Juvan has played three tournaments this year.
The Slovenian was beaten in the opening round of the Hobart International by Caty McNally, and then fell to eventual champion and fifth seed Elena Rybakina in the opening round of the Australian Open.
However, the world No 97 returned to winning ways in her opening match in Cluj, defeating Romanian wildcard Elena Ruxandra Bertea 6-3, 6-4 to book a meeting with Raducanu.
When is Raducanu vs Juvan?
This will be the first career meeting between Raducanu and Juvan, and the winner will face either qualifier Maja Chwalinska or seventh seed Olga Danilovic in the quarter-final.
An official time and schedule for the match is not yet confirmed, though the pair will take to the court at the indoor WTA 250 event at some point on Wednesday.
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The post Who is Emma Raducanu’s next Transylvania Open opponent? Meet world No 97 Kaja Juvan appeared first on Tennis365.
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