Emma Raducanu 'Happy' to Reclaim British No.1 Position After Soaring into Queen’s Quarter-Finals

Emma Raducanu continued with her impressive start to the grass-court season following a commanding victory over Rebecca Sramkova in the round of 16. The victory was the 22-year-old’s second win at the Queen’s Club Championships. Also, she’s now ranked British No.1 after surpassing fellow compatriot Katie Boulter.

Boulter was expected to win against Diana Shnaider and maintain her place as the British No.1, but she fell to a three-set loss, which gave Raducanu a chance to overtake her. Raducanu began her tie against Sramkova with a masterclass in serve and volley, and led 5-0 in the first set. However, a couple of unforced errors from Raducanu saw the Slovak star earn four consecutive points.

At 5-4, Raducanu needed to calm herself and then seal the first set with a remarkable forehand shot. In the second set, the 22-year-old didn’t give Sramkova any chance, moving properly on the grass and hitting with more power. She wrapped up the win 6-4, 6-1 to seal big ranking points as she made it to another WTA quarter-finals this year.

She’s currently ranked World No.32, and if she does reach the semi-finals or final, she’s sure to enter the Top 30 in the WTA rankings, a very positive upward movement for the British star, who has struggled with injuries and form in the past two seasons.

After the match, she was asked how she felt about overtaking Boulter and reclaiming the British No.1 ranking. The former US Open champion revealed that despite playing a tough match, she was happy with the win. She added that she will now be chased by Boulter, who will be looking forward to reclaiming the British No.1 position:

I’m so happy with today’s match. Rebecca is really tricky to play as she can light up the court so it’s difficult to stay on the whole time. But I’m really happy with how I could hold on and regroup and then be really clinical with the second. [Being British No.1] is nice but it’s not the most important thing for me. With Katie in front, it was nice to have something to chase, but I’m sure it will be the same for her now.

Raducanu has had a better season than last year. She has shown this season that she’s willing to take her career to the next level. There’s a likelihood that she might break into the Top 20 by the end of the season, if things continue to work out fine for her.

Emma Raducanu faced straight-set defeat against Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals of the Queen’s Club Championships

Emma Raducanu had a big task to face at the Queen’s Club Championships after soaring into the quarter-finals. The World No.32 faced Qinwen Zheng for a place in the last four of the WTA 500 tournament. Zheng earned her place against Raducanu after beating McCartney Kessler 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and 11 minutes.