Emma Raducanu is thru to the second spherical of the Slovenia Open after profitable her first match since her unsuccessful US Open title defence.
British primary Raducanu was main 6-2 5-3 when her opponent Dayana Yastremska was compelled to retire.
The 22-year-old Ukrainian, who’s 89th on the earth, injured her wrist whereas 30-0 down serving to remain within the match.
Raducanu, 19, went into the WTA 250 hard-court occasion as high seed however having slid from eleventh to 83rd on the earth.
Her first-round defeat by Alize Cornet at Flushing Meadows meant she didn’t defend any of the rating factors earned in her victory ultimately yr’s US Open, which stays her solely WTA title.
Raducanu rose as excessive as quantity 10 on the earth on the again of that shock run as a teenage qualifier however has discovered her full-time transition to the WTA Tour a testing one.
She was by no means actually troubled by Yastremska, nonetheless, breaking 3 times to take the primary set then once more within the third sport of the second set to imagine full management of the match.
Raducanu was two factors from victory when her opponent, who had misplaced her earlier seven matches on the WTA Tour, appeared to injure her wrist after dropping grip of her racket whereas following by on a forehand shot.
Her second-round opponent might be both world quantity 124 Elizabeth Mandlik, from the US, or Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, who’s ranked ninety fifth.
A quirk of the seedings on the Slovenia Open, that are primarily based on world rankings earlier than the US Open, means most of the British high seed’s opponents will now be above her on the earth rankings.
Cornet, who ended Raducanu’s hopes in New York, is sixth seed, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is third seed and Brazil’s world quantity 18 Beatriz Haddad Maia, who gained on the grass in Birmingham earlier this yr, is second seed.
Whereas Raducanu has been sliding down the world rankings, fellow Brit Harriet Dart has moved up three locations to eighty fifth following her run to the second spherical of the US Open.
Dart, 26, is now simply two locations under Raducanu and placing stress on her standing as Britain’s primary.
