Emma Raducanu entered the 2025 Italian Open with fierce determination after a tough, injury-hit season. Despite battling a back niggle, illness, and even a scary stalker incident post-Australian Open, the 22-year-old former top-ten player showed her grit. Now ranked No. 49, she’s been on the rise, highlighted by a strong run at the Miami Open. Returning to Rome after three years, Raducanu wasted no time making her mark, defeating Australia’s Maya Joint in a thrilling, hard-fought match on May 7. How relieving was this victory?

The match was no walk in the park. Raducanu battled through a cold, sneezes, and nose blows but still played aggressive tennis to edge out the young Aussie qualifier 7-5, 6-7, 6-3. She admitted on Sky Sports, “I think the level was really high today. Maya played so aggressively, and any time I dropped the ball a tiny bit short, she was just all over it. So, I’m really proud of how I came through.” The first set saw Raducanu take control, but Joint fought back in a tense second-set tiebreak, pushing Emma to the brink.

After a crucial bathroom break that seemed to shift momentum, Raducanu stormed into the deciding set with a 5-0 lead, though Joint clawed back to 5-3. Still, Emma held her nerve, closing out the match after two hours and 44 minutes. “It’s been difficult to play and then to close the match, that was extremely hard,” she reflected. Her resilience shone through every ‘C’mon!’ shouted with each winner, proving she can thrive under pressure.

She gave herself a well-deserved pat on the back, but it was clear the fans fueled her energy. “The crowd and the support was amazing given that it’s almost 11 o’clock at night. And I really felt it. Trying to cheer me on past the finish line,” she said. The stadium was a strange sight-just a handful of fans in this new venue nestled in a vast amphitheatre. The catch? It’s a brisk 20-minute walk from Court Centrale, and with the match kicking off at 8pm, few made the trek.

On battling a stubborn cold, she admitted, “Yeah, I feel like I’ve had this cold the last week or so. It’s hard, you can’t really breathe through your nose and you’re trying to play and do these long rallies, it’s freezing out there, so I guess I just try and take care of myself as fast as I can.” Yet, her performance told a different story – she showed up big when it counted most.

Before the match, she was confident and ready to take charge. “I think this time on the clay is actually going to take the pressure off, in a sense: I want to work on trying to impose my game, take the ball on a bit more.” And she did just that against Joint, swinging loose and owning the court from start to finish. Perhaps even foreshadowing a strong performance for the French Open at the end of the month!

Additionally, this win boosted her ranking! Now sitting at No. 45 in the live WTA Rankings, there’s a buzz about the British No. 1 spot. With Katie Boulter losing her opening match at the Italian Open to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Raducanu and the fast-rising Sonay Kartal could soon leapfrog her.

Raducanu needs a couple more wins to close the gap, but if she keeps this momentum on clay, she might just take the crown by the time the grass-court season rolls around. Her newfound inner calm seems to be working wonders!

Emma’s mindset when faced with a tough challenge on court

Emma Raducanu burst back at the 2025 Miami Open, shaking off a tough start with a win over Sayaka Ishii on March 19. Her resilience shone in a nearly three-hour battle against Emma Navarro, where despite a foot injury and trailing 3-1 in the final set, she fought back to win 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(3). “I really do relish like a really tight situation or a tight scenario. I have this inner calmness, I think that I tap into in those situations,” she told Tennis Channel. “When it gets to like 5 or 6 all, I just find like a coolness within me and I don’t know I try not to think about it because thinking makes things worse.”

Raducanu kept up the momentum, beating McCartney Kessler, and Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-3 to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Her confident, aggressive style had fans buzzing as she faced world No. 4 Jessica Pegula. After a medical timeout for dizziness, Emma fought back from a set down to level the match before Pegula won 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2. Despite the loss, Raducanu showed she’s ready to compete with the best.

Off court, Raducanu faced a frightening stalker incident in Dubai. The fan was removed and detained, but it rattled her. Now traveling with personal security and leaning on close friends, she told Miami press, “My goal is to just get to a place where I feel a lot more set and stable with my surroundings. This week I have amazing people who have known me for a very long time. I feel very secure and happy and wanting to fight for them, as well. It’s a really nice feeling.” This support fuels her fire.

Next up is world No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova, with whom Raducanu is 1-1 head-to-head. The Russian won their last meeting in Qatar, but if Emma keeps this fighting spirit, there’s no telling how far she’ll go. With the French Open ahead, will this Briton make another deep run? What do you think? Share your thoughts!