‘It’s a Funny One’ – Emma Raducanu Reflects on Facing Ukrainian Tennis Star Marta Kostyuk

Emma Raducanu caught eyeballs with her impressive US Open 2021 campaign. Entering the tournament as a qualifier, the British tennis sensation went on to win the title. She defeated Leylah Fernandez in the finals 6-4, 6-3 to lift the biggest trophy of her career. Moreover, she did not drop a set during the tournament, dominating her opponents from start to end.

Subsequently, Raducanu had a huge leap in her WTA rankings. She is currently placed at the 11th spot on the WTA rankings chart. The 19-year-old is in Spain to participate in the Madrid Open.

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Earlier, in the first round, she had a dominating 7-6 (3), 6-0 victory over Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic. Further, after the match, she opened up about facing Marta Kostyuk in the second round.

Emma Raducanu talks about her battle against Marta Kostyuk

The two next-gen stars had an intriguing rivalry during their junior days. Reflecting on her next match against the Ukrainian, Raducanu said, “All throughout juniors she was always the favorite when we played. She was considered much better. Yeah, it’s a funny one. When we played last year she played very good, but also I wasn’t very well that day. So it’ll be an interesting match-up.” 

Raducanu had played Kostyuk at the Transylvania Open in Romania last year. However, the British star lost tamely against Kostyuk in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinal encounter.

Raducanu has had a disappointing start to the 2022 season by her standards. She lost in the second round of the Australian Open against Danka Kovinic in a three-setter thriller. Further, she had a disappointing run in the Sunshine Double, too.

Raducanu had a third-round and a second-round exit in Indian Wells and Miami, respectively. Her best result this year has been a quarterfinal appearance at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Germany.

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Can Raducanu win her first title of this season in Madrid? Let us know your views in the comments below.