Returning to the top level of professional tennis and trying to regain confidence and rhythm after a long injury layoff can be difficult under the best of circumstances. It’s an even bigger challenge for Emma Raducanu, whose career so far has been completely devoid of rhythm and order.
However, under the pressure of representing her country and herself, Raducanu took a big step forward in both her return and development, posting her best performance of the year, defeating world No. 23 Carlo Caroline Garcia, the score is 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Raducanu scored his first top-30 victory on clay as Great Britain drew 1-1 with France in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. Raducanu initially trailed Garcia by a set and broke serve after Katie Boulter was beaten 6-2, 6-0 in the first set by France’s No. 2 Diane Parry. .
“Of course we will draw tomorrow and we are not 2-0 down, which is difficult to fight back,” Raducanu said. “For me, being one point behind against Caroline at home, I was completely at a disadvantage. When I finished the set and broke serve, I just started swinging. I was like: ‘Okay, we’ve lost. , so you might as well go all out. “Either go big or go home. We haven’t gone home yet and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Le Portel is a small French commune located on the northern coast of France by the English Channel, only 90 miles away from London. For many members of Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team, they live closer than their French counterparts.
Although the venue was not too far from home, the opening game highlighted how unfamiliar the terrain was to many players, with Bolt leading 2-0 before being overwhelmed by Parry and losing 12 games in a row.
Although Raducanu has more clay court experience than Bolt, she stepped up to the plate against Garcia, fully aware that she faced an extremely difficult task. In the first set, despite multiple breaks, both players were of high quality, with Garcia playing her typical uncompromising, attacking style of tennis, serving while looking for a forehand attack at all costs move forward.
Although Laducanu held her own in many tight contests, Garcia’s greater weapons and her service points marked the gap between them, with the home side looking to win a fourth consecutive match 6-3, 2- 0 lead and seemed to be heading for victory.
Newsletter Promotion Post
Instead, Raducanu dug deep and stunningly turned the game around. She came back brilliantly against one of the best servers on tour, keeping Garcia under constant pressure with her usual depth and determination to get the ball early. She matched the French player’s hard shots by changing her pace, refusing to move from the baseline. Her serve was often a weakness in the most important moments, but she found a serve and scored freely in many difficult moments.
“I actually didn’t do much wrong, even though I broke serve after the set, but it came down to a couple of break points for both sides,” Raducanu said. “I think from the second set I took a more aggressive stance and I was rewarded for taking more risks. I love playing in front of a crowd, even though it’s a French house.”
By the final set, Raducanu’s game had reached a level of freedom rarely seen since his 2021 U.S. Open victory. She was completely unfazed by Garcia’s serve, lasering in winners from both sides of the serve and rolling in her own serve. As she approached victory, Raducanu was so focused that she completely misread the score and celebrated victory prematurely after holding serve at 5-1. Regardless, she stepped up again five minutes later and scored a brilliant victory.
