Three years ago, after a panic attack forced her to abandon her fourth-round match against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic on Wimbledon’s No 1 Court, Emma Raducanu expressed hope that her ordeal might prove beneficial in the long run.
“It’s a great learning experience for me going forward,” Raducanu said in a television interview the following day. “Next time, hopefully, I’ll be better prepared.”
She was.
The 21-year-old returned to the scene of her teenage ordeal on Wednesday an infinitely more composed and accomplished player, delivering an artful and assured performance to dismantle Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-2.
Raducanu is now through to the third round of a major for the first time since her historic run to the 2021 US Open title, which came barely two months after her baptism of fire against Tomljanovic, and while it is far too soon to start imagining that she might mount a similar run at her home slam, she is playing with a quality and abandon that will inevitably evoke memories of her New York fairy tale.
Much has changed since that landmark victory, of course, the intervening years having brought a smorgasbord of injuries and coaching changes, not to mention surgery on both wrists and an ankle last summer. A string of lucrative commercial endorsements and high-profile social engagements led many to question her commitment to the game, and perhaps understandably there have been times when Raducanu appeared a shadow of her sunny 18-year-old self. Yet the megawatt smile that illuminated Flushing Meadows three summers ago is back on her face, and the joy has returned to her tennis. Raducanu is accentuating the positives.
“I didn’t even think of that,” she said when reminded that she had not played on No 1 Court since facing Tomljanovic. “When I think of Court One, I just think of that amazing win against Sorana [Cirstea, who she defeated in the third round in 2021]. I think that was my first coming out into tennis society, if you would like to call it.
“I just have such amazing memories from that court, and that match in particular. It was the first time playing on a court that size, the crowd, the environment, the feeling of adjusting at the start to playing on a court that big. So I only have good memories of playing on that court.”
She will have even better ones now. This was a far cry from Raducanu’s error-strewn win over Mexico’s Renata Zarazúa in the previous round, which she described as a case of “winning ugly”. Powerful and precise off the ground, inventive and resourceful in defence, Raducanu left Mertens dumbfounded with the quality of her ball-striking and her outstanding speed and agility. The Briton rattled through the opening five games, and although the 33rd-ranked Mertens rallied to hold from 0-40 down at the start of the second set, Raducanu broke at the next time of asking with a brilliant backhand pass. She would not relinquish her lead.
Raducanu will now face Maria Sakkari, the Greek ninth seed, whom she defeated in the US Open semi-finals in their only previous meeting.
“The circumstances are different in a third round compared to a semi-final,” said Raducanu. “At the time the dynamics were also different, I was an unknown player pretty much.
“She’s top 10 in the world, so it’s going to be a really difficult one, but again one where I’m the complete underdog, and I can just enjoy playing in my home slam and just keep having fun and trying to stay an extra day.”
There will be more fun when Raducanu partners Andy Murray in the mixed doubles, an offer she received by text message on Tuesday evening.
“For me, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Raducanu. “I think some things are bigger than just tennis. I think some things are a once-in-a-lifetime memory that you’re going to have for the rest of your life. To play at Wimbledon with Andy Murray, those things don’t come by.
“At the end of my life, at the end of my career when I’m like 70 years old, I know I’m going to have that memory of playing Wimbledon with Andy Murray on a home slam.”
The British pair will play their opener against Marcelo Arévalo of El Salvador and China’s Shuai Zhang later this week.