Emma Raducanu wins opener in Slovenia as rankings fightback begins
- Planet Sport writer
- 13 September 2022
Emma Raducanu shrugged off her recent plunge in the world rankings as she made a winning start at the Slovenia Open in Portoroz.
The 19-year-old beat Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in her first match since the defence of her US Open title ended in a first-round defeat to Alize Cornet.
It left Raducanu at 83 in this week's new rankings but she had insisted she relished the "clean slate" it afforded her in her bid to return to the top of the game.
Raducanu saved all but one of four break points on her serve as she sunk Yastremska, who retired two points from defeat at 6-2 5-3.
"It has been really nice to be here. I came here early and it is a great place to have a tournament," she said after the first-round win.
"Nobody wants to win by retirement. She is a ferocious competitor. I fought hard to stay in the points. I am happy to be in the next round."
Raducanu's goal in the immediate future is to target WTA 250 events to rise up the rankings.
The No.1 seed @EmmaRaducanu moves into the second round after Yastremska retires due to injury.
— wta (@WTA) September 12, 2022
Final score: 6-2, 5-3.#WTAPortoroz pic.twitter.com/s4rjQShPDU
"I mean, obviously it's really disappointing. I'm really sad to leave here [US Open]; it's probably my favourite tournament," she said after her US Open defeat to Cornet.
"But also, I mean, in a way, [I'm] happy because it's a clean slate. I'm going to drop down the rankings, [and] climb my way back up."
