Emma Raducanu has achieved her first win on outdoor clay courts since 2022. Competing in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open, she defeated Suzan Lamens 7-6(4), 6-4, coming from a break down in both sets.
The former US Open champion`s appearances on clay have been limited since 2022, largely due to undergoing multiple wrist and ankle surgeries in 2023.
Her initial opponent this year, World No. 73 Suzan Lamens, proved to be a challenging draw. The 25-year-old Dutch player won her first Hologic WTA Tour title in Osaka last October and recently reached the semifinals in Rouen, with notable wins over Bianca Andreescu and Linda Noskova.
Lamens` powerful stroke-making, particularly her forehand, tested Raducanu throughout their match. However, Raducanu displayed better composure and execution in critical moments. She narrowly won a tight opening tiebreak and managed to recover after trailing 2-0 in the second set.
Raducanu is scheduled to face No. 24 seed Marta Kostyuk in the second round. Their only previous meeting was at the same stage of the Madrid tournament in 2022, where Raducanu won 6-2, 6-1, bringing their head-to-head record to one win each.
In their first-time encounter, the match featured several pivotal moments. In the first set, trailing 6-5, Lamens found her rhythm with powerful forehands to force a tiebreak, even leading 3-2 with a mini-break, but a series of unforced errors ultimately cost her the set. In the second set, Lamens broke for a 2-0 lead but immediately double-faulted to concede the break back. A crucial six-deuce game occurred at 3-3 on Lamens` serve; despite having seven opportunities to hold, she was broken by Raducanu, who converted her first break point of that game. This proved decisive, and Raducanu proceeded to secure the victory, having played a more consistent match overall. While Lamens hit more winners (26 to 19), Raducanu kept her unforced error count significantly lower (33 compared to Lamens` 42).
Jasper Hawthorne 
Dominic Ashworth