Emma Raducanu on early collision course with Iga Swiatek at the French Open
Swiatek has won the title for the last three years while Raducanu, who must first get past China's Wang Xinyu, has only played the tournament once before.
That was back in 2022, when she reached the second round, with the former US Open champion missing 2023 following operations on both wrists and one ankle and then opting not to compete in qualifying last year.
Textbook performance 📚@iga_swiatek puts on a dominate display to defeat Raducanu in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0!#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/rHzRbz0lJm
— wta (@WTA) January 18, 2025
She returns to Paris ranked back inside the top 50 and will hope to continue her encouraging form on the clay, which included a run to the fourth round of the Italian Open.
Raducanu struggled with a recurrence of a back problem during a second-round loss to Danielle Collins at the WTA event in Strasbourg on Wednesday but it is understood there is no concern around her participation at Roland Garros, with the 22-year-old on her way to the French capital.
While Swiatek, who defeated Raducanu for the loss of just one game at the Australian Open in January, would represent a formidable challenge, it has been a difficult season for the Pole.
She has not won a title since last year's French Open and has slipped to fifth in the rankings after uncharacteristic performances on her favourite surface.
Swiatek, who faces Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova first up, joined Paris St Germain star Ousmane Dembele at the draw, and said: 'Everybody's here to win. I'm working hard to be ready and to play as good tennis as possible.
A post shared by @jackdraper
'For sure this season had more ups and downs but I know my game is there. I just have to figure out how to use it in the best possible way. Tennis is sometimes a complicated sport but we should make it easy in our heads.'
Swiatek is in the top half of the draw along with Aryna Sabalenka, who faces Russian Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round, and could face a repeat of last year's final against Jasmine Paolini in the last eight.
Second seed Coco Gauff is the highest-ranked player in the bottom half and will open against Australia's Olivia Gadecki.
British number one Jack Draper is a leading seed at a grand slam for the first time as the world number five and will face Italian Mattia Bellucci in the first round.
The 23-year-old has landed on the strong side of the draw with top seed Jannik Sinner in his quarter and both Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic also in his half.
Cameron Norrie was given the toughest draw of the British players against 11th seed Daniil Medvedev while debutant Jacob Fearnley will face former champion Stan Wawrinka.
In the women's draw, Katie Boulter will face a qualifier ahead of a potential second-round meeting with Australian Open champion Madison Keys while Sonay Kartal meets Erika Andreeva and Jodie Burrage plays Collins.
Sinner, who is bidding for a third consecutive grand slam title after returning from his three-month doping ban, plays France's Arthur Rinderknech in the first round.
The title defence starts here 👑#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/lOZSix58zq
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 22, 2025
Djokovic, who turned 38 on Thursday, opens his latest campaign for a 25th slam crown against Mackenzie McDonald while defending champion and second seed Carlos Alcaraz faces former US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori.
Britain could yet have an eighth player in the main singles draw, with Fran Jones battling to a 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Japan's Mai Hontama in the second round of qualifying.
She will face Ukraine's Anastasiia Sobolieva in the final round but Dan Evans is out after losing 6-1 6-3 to France's Clement Tabur.
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Scottish Sun
27 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Tennis fans slam BBC live coverage of Queen's after Emma Raducanu snub ahead of Wimbledon
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TENNIS fans slammed the BBC for snubbing live coverage of Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter's doubles debut. The all-star British duo teamed up for the first time at Queen's in the opening grass-court event ahead of Wimbledon. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter played their first competitive doubles match together Credit: Getty 3 The British pairing beat Fang-Hsien Wu and Xinyu Jiang 6-4 6-2 Credit: PA But despite the BBC holding the rights to the tournament and the euphoria around tennis after yesterday's epic French Open final, they opted against spotlighting two of GB's biggest names and instead only showed the singles action on the main show court - now called the Andy Murray Arena. While Sonay Kartal, Jodie Burrage and two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova were live on TV, that meant that Raducanu and Boulter - second up on Court 1 - were overlooked on BBC Two. And their match against Fang-Hsien Wu and Xinyu Jiang was not available for British tennis fans to watch on either the red button or iPlayer. BBC presenter Isa Guha said: "Unfortunately, we won't be able to show you this match because we're focused on Andy Murray Arena, but we will be bringing you updates throughout the course of the afternoon." READ MORE ON TENNIS MIC MY DAY Wimbledon finals to be shown on new TV channel after 88 years of BBC coverage But wannabe viewers were not happy. One moaned: "Errrrr you've got two Brits linking up in the doubles - don't you think that might have been of an interest to the British viewers?" Another blasted: "You have the British women 1 and 2 playing together in doubles and you're not showing it? Make it make sense!! So frustrating!!" A third added: "You just showed a clip of Court 1 where Emma and Katie are starting their match; so why not show the match as a second option or one court on iPlayer and one on BBC Two? Very frustrating!" CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS A fourth complained: "Literally just showed us a clip of it why can't we watch it?!!!!" A fifth fumed: "Absolutely ridiculous you're not showing Boulter/Raducanu in doubles." Katie Boulter destroys tennis star fiance Alex de Minaur in four words after newly-engaged couple lose in doubles And a final user typed: "Why isn't Court 1 on BBC iPlayer though? Can't watch Boultercanu?" Boulter and Raducanu - nicknamed Boulteranu by some on social media - ran out 6-4 6-2 winners in 71 minutes, laughing and high-fiving their way to victory in joyful scenes in front of the 1,000-seater stand. The match was Raducanu's second WTA doubles match of her career - and a first win. Quizzed if they would team up again at Wimbledon, the former US Open champion downplayed their ambitions. Raducanu - delighted to have overcome any injury concerns as she ended the match with a volley - insisted: 'It's a spontaneous thing, we're just trying to do the best we can this week. "We thought about it in Madrid, Miami and Paris. 'Moving to the grass, which is a very different surface, it helps us get a feel of serving, returning and playing some points." Tennis stars' new careers PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring. But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best… I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I quit to become a nun I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so now run luxury B&B I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to become high-flying lawyer I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up bistro with Brazilian model girlfriend I'm last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I'm singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts I'm former world No1 but quit aged 29 - instead I went on to play professional poker and golf I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist But partner Boulter interjected: 'Scrap what she said - we're going for the Wimbledon title! "No, just kidding… we haven't thought about that. "We both return very well and have great volleys, so if one of us hits a good ball we can capitalise on that. "I'm very confident that Emma is going to put the ball away if I hit a good shot." World No37 Raducanu - who admitted she is still "wary" in public after he stalker hell - faces Cristina Bucsa in her opening singles match on Tuesday. Boulter, three places higher than her partner in the WTA rankings, takes on Ajla Tomljanovic. SunSport has contacted the BBC for comment on the snub, which comes after news that the BBC will have to share broadcast rights to the singles finals at Wimbledon with TNT Sports for the next five years. 3 Raducanu had only played one WTA doubles match before Credit: Getty
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Matt Vogt once chose dentistry over golf. Back home at the US Open, he's learned he didn't have to
Matt Vogt was always going to be at the U.S. Open this week. The man who likes to plan had it all planned out. He and his wife, Hilary, and their 15-month-old daughter, Charlotte, and their dogs would make the nearly six-hour drive from the Indianapolis suburbs and then crash at his mom's house in Cranberry, about 20 minutes from Oakmont. At some point, the 34-year-old knew he'd make it out to the course where he spent five-ish years caddying, a job whose perks included the opportunity to put a tee in the ground on Monday nights, something he admits now he didn't do nearly often enough. And the day after this year's Open ended, Vogt would find himself back in the main office of the dental practice he opened in 2018. That last part is still part of the plan, by the way. It's everything else about this trip that's changed. Three rounds of exquisitely steady golf — the kind Vogt found so elusive as a 'hot-headed' 20-year-old that he left his college team to focus on his other passion instead — will do that. So yes, Vogt will be at Oakmont this week after qualifying for the 125th edition of the national championship. In essentially his hometown, on a course that certainly feels like home on Father's Day weekend, just two months after losing his father and biggest supporter, Jim, to colon cancer. 'This is pretty wild,' Vogt said on Monday while walking in for a news conference that carried on for more than 20 minutes, unheard of at a major tournament for an amateur with a respectable but hardly historic resume. When 'pipe dreams' become reality, it usually is. Trading one passion for another Vogt is a dreamer sure. Just a pragmatic one. Even though he's 6-foot-6. Even though he's always been able to hit the ball a long, long way. Even though he's long felt drawn to a game that requires discipline, focus and a touch of math, he never considered trying to make a living doing it. By the time he graduated from Seneca Valley High School, an hour north of Pittsburgh in 2009, he was pretty sure he didn't have 'it.' A couple of years playing at Butler University reinforced what he held to be true: that he wasn't prepared — physically or mentally — for the toll the game can take if you dedicate your life to chasing it. So he took a break, a long one. He graduated with a degree in biology, then enrolled in dental school at the University of Indiana. There was something about the combination of helping people, problem-solving and running his own business that appealed to him, even if he laughs now about all the things he didn't know when The Dentists at Gateway Crossing opened its doors. Things like the fact that the rent is due even if those doors aren't actually open yet. 'That was a freaky, freaky few months,' he said. He quickly figured things out, and his practice steadily grew. Vogt now has another dentist on staff and has become an advisor to young doctors who want to follow the ambitious path he took. Reorganized priorities Around the same time Vogt's practice opened, he made himself a promise. 'Don't look back and be the guy, 'Well, if I had just done this or that, I maybe could have done great things,'' he said. He's not sure why he started hitting balls with a purpose again in 2018. It just kind of happened. He quickly became a fixture on the Indiana amateur circuit and qualified for the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont but didn't make it out of stroke play. The first number of his score was an eight, and the second was either one or two, and to be honest, he's fine not being totally sure. The disappointment didn't linger. He shot 67 at the alternate site the next day. Not enough of a rally to become one of the top 64 who advanced to match play, but telling of the ever-increasing maturity of both his game and his approach. Having a job, having a family to support, playing because he wanted to, not because he had to, shifted his perspective. He's no longer a golfer first. At this point in his life, that might not even crack the top five behind Christian, father and husband, among others. 'One of the biggest changes is, I've gotten my priorities right,' he said. Bombs away Some things, however, have not changed. At least on the course. Vogt hits it far. How far? He ran into long drive champion/influencer Kyle Berkshire at a pro-am a few months after the 2021 U.S. Amateur. Berkshire saw enough to invite Vogt out to Nevada to see if he could qualify for a long drive competition. While he didn't quite reach the world championships, he did unleash a 466-yard missile that drifted out of bounds. He had a blast, but also realized he was running the risk of spreading himself too thin. So he took what he learned and incorporated it into his skillset. It's one of the reasons he opted to try to qualify for this year's U.S. Open by picking a route that included a sectional at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington. The 'math and science geek' had done his research. He knew Wine Valley was wide enough that he probably wouldn't run into trouble if he started spraying tee shots. He captured medalist honors after back-to-back 4-under 68s. And suddenly, the dentist from Indiana was on The Golf Channel, his emotional post-round video going viral and his phone blowing up to the point that he asked Hillary to help him keep track of it all. Things got so busy last week that when Vogt tried to sneak out to practice, it wasn't until he was nearly at the course that he realized he'd forgotten his shoes. A grateful heart Vogt's soft spikes were back in their usual spot when he stepped off the first tee on a Monday unlike any of the others he'd ever experienced at Oakmont. This time, he wasn't slinging it in the twilight with the other caddies. Instead, he was walking down the fairways with good friend and occasional tournament partner Kevin O'Brien on his bag, saying hello to familiar faces on the other side of the ropes while he signed autographs, his father never far from his mind. Jim Vogt was diagnosed with colon cancer last July. Less than a year later, he's gone. Vogt — who is wearing a blue ribbon on his baseball cap for colon cancer awareness — is still processing it. He is pressing on and trying to lean into the joy along the way. 'I think this weekend is going to be full of gratitude,' he said. 'And hopefully some good golf, too.' ___
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
‘Nervous' Emma Raducanu enjoys win with Katie Boulter in rare doubles outing
Raducanu had before this played doubles just once, partnering Clara Tauson in round one of the 2022 Washington Open, and alongside Boulter was fully backed by the home crowd on the packed and more intimate Court One. The WTA 500 event marks the first time in 52 years Queen's has hosted women's tennis, and while the pairing of British number one Boulter and number two Raducanu were not quite ready to submit their entries to Wimbledon, there were hugs and fist-pumps aplenty as they got their grass court seasons underway. Friends who win together 🤗@WTA | #HSBCChampionships — LTA (@the_LTA) June 9, 2025 'I was actually very nervous before the match,' said 2021 US Open champion Raducanu, who will take on Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa in her opening singles match on Tuesday afternoon. 'I don't know if you could tell, but, yeah, probably more nervous than the singles, because I just didn't necessarily know what to do. 'I'm really happy once we got out there, Katie made me feel so comfortable, and I'm just so pleased to get a win.' This Queen's partnership, Raducanu revealed, came 'spontaneously', after a few close calls where she and Boulter nearly joined forces at Madrid, Paris and Miami. Asked it could extend as far as Wimbledon, Raducanu replied: 'We haven't spoken about it. It worked pretty well, so we're just going to keep on trying to do as best we can this week.' Boulter joked: 'Scrap what she said – we're going for the Wimbledon title! No, I'm just kidding.' The British pair claimed an early break in the first set and extended their lead to 4-2 before Wu and Jiang drew level at 4-4. Boulter and Raducanu broke back and eventually claimed the opening set, converting their second set point. Momentum in their favour, the Britons made quicker work of the pair from China and Chinese Taipei in the second set, sealed emphatically by Raducanu's volley. Fans on social media were quick to complain that the match was not available to watch in full on the BBC, who did occasionally cut to the British pair but focused on the action on the newly-christened Andy Murray Arena, where the three-time grand slam winner was honoured in a morning ceremony. The PA news agency understands contractural considerations between a number of stakeholders – including the WTA and LTA – contributed to the contest being held on the smaller court. PA has contacted the BBC for comment. Raducanu did not mind the venue, adding: 'I think sometimes on the smaller courts youb get a bigger feel for the match, the atmosphere and the environment, because it's a lot closer, more intimate, and you hear the support more. 'For me, I love playing on those smaller, outside courts where you really feel the support and the crowd gets into it. I was filling my bottle up, and I was literally having a chat in the stands because that's how close it is.' Elsewhere, British number three Sonay Kartal got her singles campaign off to a winning start with a 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory over Australia's world number 16 Daria Kasatkina.
