Emma Raducanu has stepped up her game significantly this season! After shaking off a back injury earlier in the year, she’s fought her way back into the top 40. Her fitness looks sharper. The mental toughness is there too. Highlights? A semifinal at the Washington Open. A strong third-round run in Cincinnati, where she pushed the envelope for world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka for over three hours. Solid showings at multiple WTA 1000 events. She still hasn’t clinched a title yet, but her 23-16 win-loss record and fierce battles against top players scream progress.

Taking on Aryna Sabalenka is no walk in the park. But Raducanu gave the aggressive Belarusian a run for her money in Cincinnati. The match opened with fireworks. Sabalenka was forced into a tie-break in the first set and just edged it. Then came Emma’s roar back. She snatched the second set 6-4, landing some stunning shots. Even in the deciding set — despite a brief pause thanks to a bawling baby — she pushed the World No. 1’s limits. After three hours and nine minutes of grit, the Brit finally went down, but still swinging.

What went wrong? A former pro spotted it instantly. Rennae Stubbs, who famously coached Serena Williams at the 2022 US Open, posted on X: “Man, one wrong choice of foreheads in that TB cost Emma. So close! Great serving from Aryna in the end.” A costly call in the tie-break. That was what went wrong. But she’s improved greatly otherwise!

For the most part this year, serving has been a work-in-progress for Emma Raducanu, and in the first set against Sabalenka, it showed. But from a set down, she flipped the script. She served as well as she had in all of 2025, racing through holds and cranking up the pressure.

A few clutch moments didn’t go her way. But the fight? The shot quality? Absolutely there. She proved she could beat Sabalenka one day. That belief had already lit up after her first-round win against Olga Danilovic. Even when broken twice, Emma Raducanu’s serve looked stronger. It backed up one of the most dangerous return games on tour. She doesn’t need much to take control, just a couple of timely breaks can hand her a set.

The stats against the World No.1 were telling. Raducanu won 73% of points behind her second serve, a big leap forward. The top seed barely saw break chances. Next time, there may be none. She credits that shift to new coach Francisco Roig, it’s already looking like a winning collaboration.

Emma Raducanu is pumped about her new coach

After Wimbledon, Emma rolled into the American hard-court swing buzzing with promise. At the Citi Open in Washington, she charged into the semifinals before Anna Kalinskaya ended her run. Still, it was a big step forward — and it came with the fresh spark of new coach Francis Roig in her corner.

On August 8, speaking to Sky Sports, Emma Raducanu’s excitement was clear. “It’s going really well. It’s my second day with him here, but I did a few days in London before I came out here. He’s obviously got a bank of experience and I’m very excited to continue working with him and to have him on my side,” she said. And with Roig’s record, that buzz is fully justified.

Roig is no ordinary coach — he is tennis royalty. From 2005 to 2022, he was a core part of Rafael Nadal’s camp, alongside Toni Nadal, Carlos Moya, and Marc Lopez, helping Rafa to all 22 of his Grand Slam trophies, including 14 French Opens. After Toni stepped back, Roig took the lead with Nadal, then guided Matteo Berrettini from December 2023 to October 2024 to titles in Marrakech, Gstaad, and Kitzbuhel despite injuries. Now, he’s backing Emma to rekindle that US Open magic from four years ago.

As for the work ahead? Emma Raducanu has it cut out: “I’m working on the quality of my shots to be better. I think against the very top that’s what it needs; it needs to improve. So I’m hoping that with time—I’m pretty patient; I’m going to try and be pretty patient—that it’ll improve.” And she definitely showed her new move today!

With Cincinnati now behind her, she’s got the breathing room to sharpen her tools before New York. The big question looms: can she light up Flushing Meadows all over again?