Raducanu Beats Blinkova 6-0, 6-3 at Queen's — Rakhimova
Emma Raducanu beat rakhimova? Emma Raducanu beat Anna Blinkova 6-0, 6-3 at Queen’s Club to reach the second round, giving her a clean start to the grass-court season after more than two months out with post-viral illness. The British player said the win felt like a stepping stone as she tries to build rhythm quickly.
Queen’s Club
Raducanu needed just two sets to see off Blinkova, who entered as a qualifier. The scoreline left no doubt, and it came after a spell in which she had played only one match since returning to competition less than a week before the French Open.
“It was a really good stepping stone, and the way I was feeling on the court, the way I was moving, the way I was expressing myself, just the whole package, not necessarily the tennis, just how I kind of was acting on the court, I really enjoyed it,” Raducanu said. “That’s something that I want to take forward in all of my matches and really embrace this grass-court season.”
Raducanu’s Paris return
The Queen’s result also sits against a difficult recent stretch. Raducanu was sidelined for more than two months because of post-viral illness, then returned to competition less than a week before the French Open. Two weeks ago, she lost in straight sets to Solana Sierra in the first round in Paris, and the world No 42 was tearful at a press conference there when asked about the mental toll of injuries in her career.
She said the work had been building for weeks. “We have been working day in, day out since I started training again, and even throughout the clay season we have been working and putting good shifts in each day,” Raducanu said. “You don’t know when it’s going to pay off. It’s work that’s compounded over the last few weeks.”
Boulter and Draper
Katie Boulter also moved through at Queen’s, beating Leylah Fernandez 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 after recovering from a set and a break down at 3-6, 3-4. On the men’s side, Jack Draper withdrew from the Queen’s Club event and said he would give himself one more week before aiming to return at Eastbourne after knee trouble that kept him out for two months.
For Raducanu, the immediate task is simpler than the bigger season picture: keep the grass-court form from one match to the next. The next result will show whether the movement and clarity she described in Queen’s can hold against a higher hurdle.
