Emma Raducanu had to win two matches on the same day to book a place in her first WTA 500 final at the HSBC Championships.
Raducanu, who is unseeded at the Queen’s Club, produced an impressive 6-2, 6-2 win over world No.19 Iva Jovic in the semi-finals. The Brit started off guns blazing, using her powerful ball-striking to dictate points. She eased her way through the opener in exactly 40 minutes before facing a sterner test in the second set.
In the second frame, Raducanu was broken for the first time and then had to fend off break points during two other service games. One of which the Brit came back from a 0-40 deficit. Raducanu’s fighting spirit paid off as she broke her American rival twice before battling to victory.
“It means everything to be doing it here at Queen’s in front of everyone,” Raducanu said of reaching her first grass-court final on the WTA Tour.
“The support today was electric,” she added.
Due to adverse weather on Friday, the 23-year-old also played her quarter-final match earlier in the day. Taking on Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, she sealed a 6-3, 7-5 victory. She has yet to drop a set in the tournament, with her other wins being over Anna Blinkova in the first round and seventh seed Sorana Cirstea in the second round.
“I think this week has been incredible. I’ve really enjoyed playing here and I think that really shows in my tennis and how I’ve been able to compete, stick out some really tough moments,” said Raducanu.
“It means everything, making it to (the final on) Sunday.”
Queen’s is the most prestigious tournament Raducanu has reached the final at since the 2021 US Open, which she won as a qualifier. She was also runner-up at another event earlier this year, which was a WTA 250 in Romania.
The run comes after what has been a difficult past few weeks for Raducanu, who was on a three-match losing streak coming into Queen’s and had failed to score back-to-back wins at her five previous tournaments. In the final, she will play former Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic, who beat Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-3.
“Me and my team have really stuck through some really tough moments in the last few months where the results haven’t been going our way, but we’ve been putting in work day in, day out,” Raducanu reflected.
“I want to take this opportunity to also thank them for getting me to this situation.”
Raducanu is the first British woman to contest a final at Queen’s since Winnie Shaw in 1970. The tournament didn’t hold any women’s events between 1974 and 2024.
