Emma Raducanu Defeats Maria Sakkari To Reach Semifinals

Emma Raducanu is finally giving us something to talk about besides her insanely unfortunate injury history, and wow, has it been worth the wait. For the first time since her fairytale US Open run in 2021, she’s back in a WTA semifinal on hardcourt. The 22-year-old battled Maria Sakkari and blistering heat in Washington, D.C., and came out on top with a gritty 6-4, 7-5 win. It wasn’t smooth sailing by any means, though. Raducanu opened the match with a couple of double faults, basically gifting Sakkari a 2-0 lead. But hey, a little drama makes for a better story, right? Raducanu quickly found her rhythm, winning the next three games, and stole the first set with her signature angled backhand on her second set point. Easy? No. Entertaining? Absolutely. Set two was where things got dicey. Sakkari, who turned 30 the same day, had a 5-2 lead and looked like she was ready to drag the match into a decisive third set. But Raducanu wasn’t having any of that. Fighting exhaustion and the kind of humidity that makes you