'If she gets a good draw': Martina Navratilova makes bold prediction about Emma Raducanu's chances at US Open

Former world number one Martina Navratilova has given her verdict about Emma Raducanu’s chances in the upcoming US Open. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year will begin on August 24 in New York.

The 18-time Grand Slam winner Navratilova has given her opinion about the chances of Britain’s number one Raducanu in the upcoming mega-event. Navratilova recently spoke to Sky Sports where she predicted that Raducanu has the potential to go deep into the competition, given she gets a ‘good draw’. “Em ma has a chance of going deep if she gets a good draw,” said Navratilova.

It will be interesting to see whether Raducanu will be able to live up to the hype, especially in a competition where she lifted her only major title. Raducanu won the US Open in 2021 after beating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3. While doing so, she became the first player ever to win a Grand Slam despite starting the campaign from the qualifying stage.

Since that win, however, not much has gone right for Raducanu; some of it was down to fitness issues, and some of it was down to her poor form. Since lifting the title in 2021, Raducanu has featured in the main round of the US Open on two occasions, and both times, she was knocked out after losing in the first round.

Some impressive performances

Last year, Raducanu crashed out of the competition after losing in the round of 128 to America’s Sofia Kenin with a score of 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. This year, Raducanu has produced some decent performances. In 41 matches acro ss different competitions, Raducanu won 24 times and suffered 17 defeats.

Her best performance in 2025 came at the DC Open, where she lost to Anna Kalinskaya in the semifinal in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3. Raducanu’s most recent appearance came at the Cincinnati Open, where her journey ended in the third round as she lost to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a hard-fought contest with a score of 7-6, 6-4, 7-6. The match lasted more than three hours. It was the second time in the space of the last three months that Raducanu managed to push Sabalenka in a match.

Both featured in the third round of Wimbledon as well where Raducanu came out on top in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-4. Talking after her defeat in the round of 32 in Cincinnati, Raducanu spoke to the media and expressed satisfaction about her performance against arguably the best player in the w orld. Raducanu stated that she was ‘proud’ of her performance on the day.

"She's world No 1 for a reason," said Raducanu. "I pushed her more than I did at Wimbledon, so that's that's an improvement. Also, it was good to have this result on a hard court because it's very different to grass, and I've always thought grass suits me a lot more - and I still believe that. So to have pushed her on a hard court like that, I'm pretty proud. I think starting the point is a big takeaway.”

Raducanu then went on to explain what proved to be the difference on the day between the two players. Raducanu was of the opinion that Sabalenka was more efficient at ‘big moments’ and admitted that she has to improve her game during certain situations. "I think she did that incredibly well in the big moments,” said Raducanu while praising Sabalenka back then. “She served and returned really well. I did too, in certain moments of the match, but to kind of hold that level on the starting point for the whole match, I think that's a big thing for me."