"I think for me, I love going to the galleries here": Emma Raducanu shares New York plans with same loves from 2021 triumph to now

Emma Raducanu made a dream start to her 2025 US Open campaign, powering past her opponent Ena Shibahara 6-1 6-2 with a blistering 26-minute opening set before sealing a commanding first-round victory. For the 2021 champion, it marked her first win at Flushing Meadows since her unforgettable title run four years ago.

Raducanu now faces potentially Veronika Kudermetova in the second round with her sister Polina Kudermetova winning through retirement earlier on against Nuria Parrizas Diaz. The winner of that tie faces Aryna Sabalenka or Rebeka Masarova.

Raducanu defeated the Japanese qualifier in just over an hour and it is the first Grand Slam win since that 2021 win. She is now joining forces too with Francisco Roig who will look to make even more of a difference after Mark Petchey produced such brilliance in recent months.

But Petchey has other commitments which means that he cannot commit the whole time so Raducanu searched for a better solution and this was poetry in motion as she sent a Louis Armstrong Stadium statement not on the Arthur Ashe Stadium but on the second court.

“Of course, I'm very, very pleased to have won that match,” Raducanu said on court. “It's my first win here since 2021, so it's extra special. First rounds are always difficult, and especially at a Slam—you know, there are nerves. I'm just so happy with the way I came through that and the way I played.”

Her opponent had come through qualifying, something Raducanu admitted added an extra challenge. “She's really tricky. She hit so many balls on the baseline that I was not expecting to just dip,” she explained. “When someone comes through qualifying, you feel like they have a bit of an advantage—playing matches on the surface, knowing what it feels like. So I'm just very pleased with how I managed myself and my game through that match.”

The victory was more than just a result for Raducanu, who has been vocal about reconnecting with the joy of tennis after dealing with the weight of expectation since her breakout success. “Yeah, I'm very happy. I've got amazing people in my corner over there, so I want to thank them,” she said. “It makes every day—the work—feel a lot more enjoyable, pleasurable. I see the progress that I'm making on the practice court. It might not come straight away, but I know over time I'm just racking up good days, building, and I feel like it has to go somewhere.”

Off the court, Raducanu is also taking time to enjoy the city that made her a global star. Asked about her must-do activities in New York, she smiled.

She said that it will always remain the same with a recommendation also from her Nana (grandmother). “A must is always Central Park, I feel like. But I think for me, I love going to the galleries here. I've been to the MoMA, and then I got a recommendation from basically my Nana to go to the Frick Collection. So I'm going to go there.”