Raducanu Eases Past Ruse to Advance at Canadian Open

British number one Emma Raducanu continued her impressive hard-court campaign with a straight-sets victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the opening round of the Canadian Open.

Fresh off a semi-final run at the Washington Open, the 22-year-old maintained her momentum in Montreal with a confident 6-2, 6-4 win over her Romanian opponent.

Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, will now take on American Peyton Stearns, the tournament’s 32nd seed, in the second round as she builds towards the final Grand Slam of the year in New York, which takes place from 24 August to 7 September.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Raducanu acknowledged the emotional challenge of facing a close friend: “Elena is a good friend of mine and it’s difficult to play someone you know, but I’m happy with how I put that to one side,” she said. “It’s also good to back up a good week last week in DC.”

The British star showed her composure early on by saving five break points in her first service game before racing through the rest of the opening set, winning five consecutive games.

Though the second set saw both players trade breaks, Raducanu managed to edge ahead at 5-4 and held serve to close out the match, repeating her victory over Ruse earlier this year in Auckland.

Since her Wimbledon exit to Aryna Sabalenka in early July, Raducanu has won four of her five matches on hard courts, showing signs of a strong resurgence.

Should she overcome Stearns, a third-round clash with American fifth seed and Wimbledon 2025 finalist Amanda Anisimova could be on the horizon.