Raducanu beats Ena Shibahara for first U.S. Open Win since 2021 | U.S. Open Tennis 2025

Emma Raducanu, after three and four years of life-changing in New York Her 2021 Championship Running in an impressive way, demolishing the qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2, and finally returning to the second round.

After a painful first round defeat by Alizé Cornet and Sofia Kenin, coupled with the withdrawal from the eight-month injury layoffs in 2023, Raducanu showed her growth and newfound self-assurance by delivering a solid, clear performance on the secondary opponents.

“It’s been in my mind all the time,” Rakanu said. “It’s been four years and it’s a very special game for me. I do feel different this year. I feel like I’m doing the right thing every day, but still behind you. So I’m so happy to get over that.”

With the victory, the No. 1 UK has now scored 20-4 against low-level players in the past year, and her ability to consistently win favorable games has been a key part of her steady rise. Next, she will face the 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova or the qualifier Janice Tjen.

It also marks the first Grand Slam win of her new Spanish coach Francisco Roig, who once again provides a constant positive reinforcement from the corner of Louis Armstrong Stadium. Roig was joined by Chiropractor Jerome Poupel, who has been helping Raducanu continue to get injured.

“He has been helping me last year. I had problems last year, so he really helped it.”

“As I’ve been playing more tennis and doing more training, for me, keeping it the most important thing is. It’s cool, cool, you know he’s already working in F1, he’s working with horses, so it’s very different. But I just like to keep him around. He’s a great, calm but quirky character.”

As they work together, Poupel provides Raducanu’s unique insights to her character. “He said my character is similar to a horse,” she said. “Can be stubborn and dig their heels. He has experience. Hopefully he can read me. And they wear their emotions on their sleeves.

“If they don’t feel like they want to do something they might not do.

It was a good first round draw for Raducanu, but Shibahara is an interesting character in its own right. The 27-year-old is a US-born Japanese player, the top four doubles players and the 2022 French Open Doubles Championship. Shibahara chose to prioritize singles last year, and her performance was admirable, rising from the top 500 to her current No. 128 ranking. However, she never beat the top 50 opponents, and the game marked her second major in her career.

From the beginning, Rakanu took calm love as the tone. As she rolled the game, she found her early ball hitting herself and against an unstable opponent, and he finished the game with 36 unmandatory turnovers, a good balance. Raducanu used to spend a lot of time on her opponents to reconnaise, but she attributed part of her success to finding a solution inside her.

“I like to look at my opponent,” Rakanu said. “I think I might be watching less now. I have a good understanding of my opponents, what they like to do, and focus more around me. I think I believe in myself, trust my abilities more, and I also know what else I need to do on the court, not necessarily searching for what I have in the box, not necessarily doing, only I need to beg for mercy, I will meet what I mean. A little bit of looking for something.”

Before the championship, Radanu In-depth speech How the U.S. Open has had conflicting emotions for her over the years. Her first defeat against Kenning last year was a particularly low point, with Rado Kanu crying at a post-match press conference.

Now the situation is obviously different. This summer, Raducanu has become stronger and more confident than at any time in the past four years. Now, she will try to turn that belief and satisfaction into another active run in New York.