Emma Raducanu ended a 48-day winless streak by defeating 22-year-old American Peyton Stearns in the first round of the WTA 500 event in Seoul. It was a hard-fought match, marked by tension, unpredictability, and some errors from Raducanu, but she managed to secure the victory.
Interestingly, both of her most recent wins on tour have come against Stearns, showing a consistent edge over her opponent. This win will likely boost Raducanu’s confidence as she looks to regain her form on the WTA tour.
Though there were some impressive moments, the match was far from flawless, with a combined 110 unforced errors across just two sets. However, Raducanu displayed resilience, narrowly winning both sets in tie-breaks: 7-6, 7-6. Physically, she was likely eager to avoid a third set, as the first two had already lasted a grueling two hours and 43 minutes.
“I don’t think either of us were playing particularly great tennis,” Raducanu admitted, who will now play China’s Yue Yuan in the second round on Thursday. “It was more of a dogfight. The conditions were very humid, so it was a tough two sets. If it had gone to three, it would have been very interesting. Peyton has played much more tennis than I have in recent months, so I’m just proud of finding a way to win.”
In her on-court interview, Raducanu explained that “the balls were bouncing around all over the place,” which, while seemingly typical for tennis, referred to the lively court conditions that led to high, extended rallies, favoring Stearns’s heavy top-spin game.
“It bounces a lot and gets very high off the court,” Raducanu elaborated in the interview room after the match. “It felt a bit like playing at altitude. I lost my rhythm on serve, and everything spiraled from there. It just became a question of ‘Who’s going to tough it out and win the mental battle?’ Neither of us was particularly happy with our performance, but some matches are like that.”
“At 5-6 down in the second set, I was struggling to even get the ball in the court,” Raducanu admitted. “I thought, ‘If I’m going to lose the set, I might as well go for it because the way I’m playing right now is kind of miserable.’ Then I think I won seven points in a row. I focused on dictating the first shot so she couldn’t hit those high, spinny balls. In the tie-break, I honestly just cared less, and it ended up working in my favor.”