Emma Raducanu, Elena Rybakina retired during DC Open doubles semifinals

The journey of Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina in the DC Open doubles came to an end after the unprecedented pairing retired during their semifinal match against Taylor Townsend and Shuai Zhang. It was a difficult match on paper against the second seeds, which unfortunately didn't even manage to finish the first set.

The duo had surprised many when their entry into the doubles draw was announced, and they debuted with an impressive win against Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls, overcoming a set deficit to secure a 2-6, 7-6(7), 11-9 victory in the super tie-break of the third set. Then, in the quarterfinals, they seemed to gel as a team, defeating Giuliana Olmos and Aldila Sutjiadi, two other specialists in the category.

Both Rybakina and Raducanu took to the court earlier Friday, both with wins that propelled them to the semifinals of the DC Open singles draw. They nevertheless decided to show up for the doubles match — barely an hour after Rybakina's singles triumph.

Townsend (Doubles No. 2) and Zhang (No. 15) entered with a certain favoritism, considering their extensive experience as doubles players and both being Grand Slam champions in the category in the past. They had just defeated the duo of Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste in a tight encounter.

Not much happened in the match, which began with the first service game in favor of Rybakina and Raducanu. However, Townsend and Zhang showed their experience, easily holding their service games and securing two consecutive breaks.

The match stood at 4-1 in favor of the doubles specialists when Raducanu/Rybakina — with everything against them and realizing they would have to work extremely hard for a victory — decided to retire from the doubles, opting to physically preserve themselves for their singles semifinals matches scheduled for this Saturday.

Singles focus for Raducanu and Rybakina

The pairing of Rybakina and Raducanu surprised at the beginning of the week, partnering up to gain match practice on hardcourts amidst a demanding swing and after the surface change from the grass-courts at Wimbledon a few weeks ago. However, for both, the main objective was singles, where both delivered this week.

Indeed, during the day, former US Open champion Raducanu reached the semifinals of the tournament after convincingly defeating Maria Sakkari in straight sets. There is little doubt that Raducanu is achieving consistency at the top level, with wins this week against strong opponents like Marta Kostyuk, Naomi Osaka, and Sakkari, returning to a tournament semifinal.

Since winning the US Open title in 2021, the Brit has never returned to a final, and now she is just one win away from breaking a nearly four-year final drought. She will face Russia's Anna Kalinskaya, who surprised fourth-seed Clara Tauson earlier in the afternoon, in what will undoubtedly be a thrilling match for a spot in the final. Raducanu has also secured a climb of 14 positions in the rankings and is currently positioned at world No. 32 in the live ranking, her best ranking since 2022 — when a good portion of her points were still from her Flushing Meadows triumph.

Rybakina, for her part, has also achieved convincing victories this week. After receiving a first-round bye, she defeated young star Victoria Mboko in her debut and then Polish fifth-seed Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals, both victories in straight sets. The third-seed is preparing to face Canadian Leylah Fernandez — who has found inspiration at the DC Open. They have two previous encounters, both in 2024, with one win for each, the last of which was in favor of Fernandez in Cincinnati.

Although the Kazakh will not see a ranking movement for now — where she is No. 12 — the possibility of reaching the final would place her in the WTA Race top eight, meaning she would return to a WTA Finals qualification spot, just before the start of the WTA 1000 doubleheader in Canadian and Cincinnati Opens. Rybakina has 14 wins in her last 18 matches and will look to reach the 21st final of her career against Fernandez.

Match Statistics Raducanu E / Rybakina E vs. Townsend T / Zhang S