Raducanu Renaissance
In reaching the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, Emma Raducanu won four matches in a tournament for the first time since her run to the 2021 US Open title. Notables she beat along the way included Emma Navarro and Anisimova.
“Circumstances change all the time,” Raducanu said in Miami, “but for me the biggest thing I’m proud of is just finding, I guess, the competitive spirit and being there for every ball and drawing that out of myself. I think that’s kind of been missing in the last few months and even few years at times.”
Ranked No. 60 prior to Miami, Raducanu rose a dozen spots to 48, her first time in the Top 50 since September 2022. As the clay court season gets underway, will the confidence generated by a fine Florida fortnight translate into more results?
A Cornet comeback
For reasons you probably don’t want to know, I’ve often had a soft spot for pesky competitors who can flummox opponents with adroit tactics. With that in mind, I was glad to hear about Alize Cornet’s planned return to the WTA Tour, starting at a French clay court event the week of April 14.
In a statement eerily similar to what happened during many of her matches, Cornet said, “You thought you’d got rid of me, but that’s not quite the case yet.”
