After a strong performance at the Citi DC Open, Emma Raducanu will look to continue her form at the Canadian Open.
In Washington, Raducanu delivered strong displays to defeat Marta Kostyuk 7-6(4), 6-4, Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2, and Maria Sakkari 6-4, 7-5.
A 4-6, 3-6 loss to Anna Kalinskaya ended Raducanu’s run at the WTA 500 event at the semi-final stage.
The world No 46 will begin her campaign at the WTA 1000 event in Montreal with a first round clash against Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Elena-Gabriela Ruse was born in Bucharest, Romania on November 6, 1997. Her father was a footballer, while her mother is a former gymnast. She has named her compatriot Simona Halep, a two-time major champion and former world No 1, as her idol.
In her maiden WTA Tour final, Ruse defeated Andrea Petkovic at the WTA 250 clay-court event in Hamburg in 2021 to claim her only WTA singles title to date.
Ruse has since been a runner-up at three WTA 250 events: to Danielle Collins at the 2021 Palermo Open (clay), to Tamara Korpatsch at the 2023 Transylvania Open (indoor hard), and to Elise Mertens at the 2025 Libema Open (grass).
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The Romanian’s best Grand Slam result is reaching the third round at the 2024 US Open, with her overall record at majors 6-12.
Ruse’s career win-loss record at WTA Tour level is 49-62 (12-10 in 2025), while she reached a career-high ranking of 51st in May 2022.
The 27-year-old, who is currently ranked 56th, has lost her last three matches since her semi-final win at the Libema Open final in June.
Raducanu and Ruse’s friendship
Raducanu, whose father Ion is Romanian, has been good friends with Ruse since 2021.
“We started to be friends, she’s a nice person,” Ruse told the Guardian in 2021. “I enjoy the time with her so much. She is speaking really good Romanian but she’s so shy to do it.”
After training and going for dinner together during the 2021 Transylvania Open in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca, Raducanu and Ruse played an exhibition match at London’s Royal Albert Hall later that year.
Head-to-head
In the pair’s only previous meeting, Raducanu defeated Ruse 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the opening round of the 2024 Auckland Open.
It was Raducanu’s first match in eight months after she had undergone three surgeries — on both wrists and her left ankle — in 2023.
The winner of their match in Montreal will face 32nd seed Peyton Stearns in the second round.
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The post Who is Emma Raducanu’s first Canadian Open opponent? Elena-Gabriela Ruse is friends with the Brit appeared first on Tennis365.
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