Emma Raducanu earned her first-ever match win at the Miami Open, thrashing teenage wildcard Sayaka Ishii. The world No. 60 had lost in the opening round in both of her previous appearances at the tournament. She will now face eighth seed Emma Navarro.
The Brit survived an early wobble and won 10 of the last 11 games to beat Ishii 6-2 6-1. It’s Raducanu’s first win since a spectator who exhibited “fixated behaviour” was removed from her second-round tie in Dubai in February.
After struggling in the windy conditions in Indian Wells earlier this month, Raducanu was keen to turn things around in Miami. The 22-year-old got a favourable draw, meeting world No. 188 Ishii in the first round.
The Japanese wildcard had never competed in a 1000 event before and was making her third appearance at WTA Tour level. Raducanu’s experience proved crucial in Wednesday’s match.
There was a brief moment of concern in the first set when Raducanu was broken to love in the second game after going a break up. But she quickly regrouped, winning the last four games of the set to take it 6-2.
Raducanu’s solid performance in the quick set saw her hit nine winners and just six unforced errors. And the 2021 US Open champion continued her demolition job in set two as Ishii struggled to win a game.
The Brit hurtled into a 5-0 lead before Ishii finally got on the board while serving to stay in the match. But Raducanu quickly finished the job, closing out the match in just over an hour. “Keep keeping on,” she wrote on the camera lens after getting the win.
It was a statement performance in her first match win in Miami. Afterwards, she said: “I’m very pleased to have got through that. It’s not an easy first round, playing someone a bit younger and dangerous and in good form.
“I’m really proud of how I competed today, it hasn’t been easy for me coming into this but I think I put out a really good performance.”
Raducanu had not competed in the tournament since 2023 when she lost in the first round. The world No. 60 made her Miami Open debut in 2022 and received a bye into round two as one of the seeded players but suffered defeat in her opening match.
Raducanu now faces a tough test if she wants to advance to the third round here for the first time, as she meets No. 8 seed Navarro. The American picked up her second career title in Merida earlier this month but suffered a disappointing third-round loss in Indian Wells.
“It’s going to be an extremely challenging match. I think it’s a match where she’s probably in better form so I think I can just go out and try and express myself and compete for every point,” Raducanu said of facing Navarro.
“She’s a great person on the tour, probably one of the few people we would like warm to and say hi, so it’s going to be a double Emma tomorrow or whenever!”
Meanwhile, Raducanu is still looking for a full-time coach after parting ways with Nick Cavaday in January. But she had a familiar face in her box for her first-round match – Jane O’Donoghue.
A former player who now works in finance, O’Donoghue has worked with Raducanu since she was a junior and has joined the world No. 60 at multiple tournaments over the last few years.
LTA coach Colin Beecher was also spotted in her box. But Vladimir ‘Vlado’ Platenik, who joined Raducanu in Indian Wells on a trial basis, was notably absent. It is not known whether Raducanu and Platenik opted to continue their trial after her first-round exit in the Californian desert.
