(In Pictures) Emma Raducanu Has an Emotional Outburst During Korea Open Clash Against Jaqueline Cristian

Emma Raducanu will face Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the Korean Open after winning her opening match.

(In Pictures) Emma Raducanu Has an Emotional Outburst During Korea Open Clash Against Jaqueline Cristian

Emma Raducanu (via X/The Tennis Letter/1gamesetmatch)

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Emma Raducanu went through an emotional turmoil during her match against Jaqueline Cristian at the Korean Open on Wednesday (September 17). The British star was set to play her first round match in Seoul on Tuesday (September 16), but due to a heavy downpour, the match was shifted to Wednesday.

The 22-year-old decided to accept a wildcard for the tournament after deciding not to represent her country at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in China – a decision that has led to a lot of criticism from former British players. She took to the court against Cristian and started poorly, hitting a double fault.

Her opponent then took control of the match and was 2-1 up before Raducanu began to find her rhythm on the court. The last year’s quarter-finalist looked far from her best on the court as she kept struggling with her service game. That easily let Cristian go 3-1 up after she broke the British star for the first time in the match.

But surprisingly, Raducanu broke back and made it 3-3 within a couple of minutes. She was looking to continue with the momentum but bizarrely broke into tears, which was a big surprise. However, she won all three remaining games to claim the set after Cristian took her unforced errors tally to 16 in just the first set.

Raducanu then began to grow in confidence after that, as her coach, Francisco Roig, kept encouraging her from her box. She broke Cristian early in the second set to take the lead 2-1 while her opponent struggled to keep unforced errors out of her game.

The World No.33 then used that advantage to break Cristian for the second time in the match, and the tie was over. Raducanu won the match 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Korean Open. The match was her first win since her loss to Elena Rybakina in the first round at the US Open in New York.

Raducanu is still seeking her first title since winning the US Open in 2021. This season, she has performed better on the court but has struggled to maintain a consistent display against the top 10 players in the women’s circuit. In fact, all her Grand Slam losses came against players in the top 10 including Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.

Emma Raducanu pleased with her performance against Jaqueline Cristian at the Korean Open

Emma Raducanu was only able to win 13 out of her 34 points in the second serve during her match against Jaqueline Cristian. The British star also was only able to take three of her 12 break-point opportunities.

Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu (Image via X/Emma Raducanu Fan)

During her on-court interview, she was asked how she felt about the win after bursting into tears in the first set. Raducanu revealed that she was pleased with her performance despite the tough conditions and weather delays:

I’m happy to have won today, it hasn’t been easy you know. I feel like I’ve played this match in the last three days [because of rain delays] so to pull through after waiting, I’m super pleased with how I came through. Tough conditions, very slow long rallies, long points, so happy to have got through.

Raducanu will now hope to improve significantly in her game ahead of her second-round match at the Korean Open. She will face former Wimbledon and French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova for a place in the third round of the tournament.

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