Emma Raducanu made a winning return to competition as she defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3 4-6 7-5 at the ASB Classic. The Brit showed no signs of ailment after having a series of operations in May which sidelined her for the rest of the year and saw her ranking plummet to No 301 in the world.
Raducanu stepped out onto the court for her first match in almost nine months, taking on a familiar face in Ruse. The pair became friends following some practice sessions at the Cluj-Napoca tournament in 2021 and Raducanu invited the Romanian to contest an exhibition match with her at London’s Royal Albert Hall, winning in straight sets.
But the 21-year-old Brit came into their Auckland clash worlds away from the player she was last time she faced Ruse. Raducanu was forced to end her 2023 season in May to undergo three surgeries – one on her ankle and two more on each of her wrists. There were some signs of rust but it was an impressive performance from Raducanu early on, who dominated the points on her serve and earned the first break of the match in the eighth game.
Playing her first set of tennis since April, the world No 301 took it 6-3 after 36 minutes. Raducanu looked to carry her momentum into the second set as the Romanian qualifier was forced to save three break points in an 11-minute game.
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But the tide started to turn when Raducanu questioned a decision from the umpire to give Ruse a point that was overruled instead of replaying it as he noted that the Brit didn’t have a play on the ball. It was the 21-year-old’s turn to face break points for the first time in the match and she handed Ruse the lead with a double fault. Raducanu got back on serve but quickly relinquished the break with another error on her serve as the world No 134 took a 4-2 lead.
With childhood mentor Jane O’Donoghue giving words of encouragement and advice from Raducanu’s box, the 2021 US Open winner took a 0-40 lead as Ruse served for the second set. This time, it was the 26-year-old who fired down a double fault to keep Raducanu in it and gift her the break. But the pendulum kept on swinging as Ruse earned her third break of the Brit’s serve to take the set 6-4 and force a decider.
Raducanu remained composed, with any early nerves now quashed, and dazzled the crowd with an Ash Barty-esque slice to start the final set. Her patience paid off, as she broke to love to take a 3-2 lead. Raducanu continued to apply pressure on the qualifier as Ruse blew a 40-15 lead to get broken again but she failed to close out the match at the first time of asking.
The match looked to be getting away from the 21-year-old when she failed to convert two match points on Ruse’s serve and was broken again, losing three games in a row after leading 5-2.
But Raducanu held on, breaking Ruse again to get her third chance at serving for the victory. This time around, the Brit secured the win in her first match since April.
Raducanu now faces a tough test in the second round as she faces world No 25 Elina Svitolina. The second seed in Auckland, Svitolina is playing in her first tournament since the US Open. She enjoyed a triumphant return from pregnancy last year, coming back unranked before winning the Strasbourg title, reaching the French Open quarter-final and beating Iga Swiatek en route to the Wimbledon semi-final.
