Emma Raducanu’s encouraging surge in form continued as she beat three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart – with the win securing her an instant rankings boost.
Fresh from helping Great Britain reach the finals of the Billie Jean Cup at the weekend, Raducanu continued her promising form on clay by breezing past the home favourite.
Both Raducanu and Kerber were playing as wild cards in Stuttgart, with the Briton tumbling down the rankings after time out to undergo three surgeries.
Meanwhile, former world number one Kerber only recently returned from 18 months out on maternity leave.
Raducanu got off to a flying start by breaking Kerber in the opening game and despite an immediate response from the German, the 2021 US Open champion took control and claimed the first set in 41 minutes
Kerber was broken again at the start of the second set and although she managed to haul back level, Raducanu stepped up a gear and shrugged off a brief visit from the trainer to wrap up an emphatic win.
“It was very difficult to play Angie because she has so much history behind her,” said Raducanu. “You are not just playing Angelique Kerber, you are playing the person who has achieved all those amazing results.
“It wasn’t the prettiest but I just focused on the next point and did not get too bogged down. So I’m happy to have got through that.
“I am playing some really good tennis. I feel like I’m a lot more dominant in my service games. I feel like I’m playing really well. I think everyone that I was practicing with can attest to that too.
“Yeah, it is, I think it’s a combination of doing actual good practice weeks, doing the right things. I’m really enjoying working with Nick, my coach.
“It’s great to have a familiar face, but I also think we’re just working really well together as a team.
“I think my serve is more of a weapon now. I think the last weekend I played some great tennis. Obviously it wasn’t a lot of much time to turn over since last weekend.
“Yeah, going back up again tomorrow, it’s more just a challenge of the body, but I think I’m mentally in a good place.
“I’m taking a lot of confidence from the training I’m doing.”
Perfect Start 👍👍@EmmaRaducanu looking very sharp, defeating Kerber to set up a R2 encounter against Noskova!#PorscheTennis pic.twitter.com/avIcmN55qG
— wta (@WTA) April 17, 2024
Raducanu was always likely to take time to find her feet on the WTA Tour after her 2023 season ended after this event in Stuttgart a year ago.
Her ranking dropped outside of the top 300 as virtually all the points she had collected dropped off her record, but she is finding form heading into a hectic few weeks of the season.
Many critics have suggested Raducanu should be playing lower-level events in a bid to get match wins and build some momentum after her time away from the game.
Yet her determination to compete with the biggest names in the game ensures she has a chance to make a quick leap back up the WTA Rankings and this single win in Stuttgart saw her climb a stunning 51 places in the live rankings.
If she was playing WTA 250 events or even tournaments on the second tier ITF World Tennis Tour, Raducanu would make a much slower rise up the rankings.
Now she has a chance to get back into the top 100 of the rankings in double quick time, with a win against Czech teenager Linda Nodkova in her next match likely to fire her up to around No 220 in the live rankings.
Raducanu’s current form would challenge players at the top end of the women’s game and if she can avoid injury setbacks, her impressive form on clay could allow her to enjoy rapid rises up the rankings as she has no points to defend for the rest of 2024.
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