WHAT HAPPENED: Both British phenom Emma Raducanu and American Sofia Kenin have one Grand Slam title to their names. They are former Top 10 players who have fallen to world No. 72 and 54, respectively, in part due to injuries. Unusually, given their similar standings, they’ve never faced each other.
Simply put, there was a lot of buzz about the players’ first-time, first-round contest, played in the Grandstand at sunset. And the battle didn’t disappoint. After three tough sets, it was Kenin who took it, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Although both players have had intriguing careers, Raducanu’s is the more storied: She won the 2021 US Open women’s singles title as a teenager and a qualifier, the first man or woman to do so in the Open Era.
“I love this tournament and I have amazing memories from it,” said the now-21-year-old Raducanu, whose top ranking was world No. 10 in 2022. “It's a great feeling to be back and to see my face on the wall and see my name on the trophy.”
But the 25-year-old Kenin, who took the 2020 Australian Open women’s singles title, is more battle-tested. She was ranked as high as No. 4, in both 2020 and 2021.
That the night would bring a tight tussle was evident from the first few games. Kenin started as the aggressor, earning break points—which she failed to convert—in her opponent’s first service game, then holding her own serve at love. The American continued to apply pressure, breaking Raducanu in the third game to go up 2-1.
The lead seemed to give Kenin the confidence to get creative. She hit a low, angled shot to bring the Brit to net, then lobbed over her head. She rushed to the net and finished a point with a swinging volley. And she forced her opponent into an exchange of looping moon balls, changing up the pace.
Not everything worked. But the variety kept Raducanu guessing—and the American out in front. Another factor: The Brit earned break-point opportunities, three of them when Kenin wobbled in the sixth game, up 4-1. But Raducanu couldn’t take advantage and found herself serving at a 1-5 deficit. She would fail to win another point in the first set, which Kenin took, 6-1.
Was Raducanu struggling with old injuries? More than a year ago, she had surgeries on both wrists and an ankle, which meant she was forced to rely on a mobility scooter to get around.
“I had a cast on one hand, a splint on the other and my ankle was also pretty much immobilized,” the 21-year-old Brit told The Guardian in June.
Since then, Raducanu has come a long way—and enjoyed a summer of good health, advancing to the fourth round at Wimbledon and a quarterfinal match in Washington, D.C. And at the start of the second set, she showed some of that form, breaking Kenin in the first game.
At the one-hour mark, with the score tied 2-2, the American started showing uncharacteristic flashes of emotion, at one point banging her racquet against the net. On the other side of it, Raducanu remained calm, even stoic, and managed to break Kenin and hold her serve to go up 4-1.
Suddenly, the mostly one-sided success had swung Raducanu’s way. The American’s unforced error count crept up to 24 and while her winner tally looked good—at 27—there were far fewer of them in the second set. Down 3-5, Kenin opened her service game with two double faults. Raducanu took the game and the set, 6-3.
With the momentum on Raducanu’s racquet, she opened the third set with a love hold. Kenin followed suit and a seesaw set commenced. Through much of it, Raducanu remained the steadier player, tracking down the American’s gutsy attempts to paint every line—until Kenin would commit yet another error.
Would fortune favor the bold? Or would a slow start but steady play win the day? At 2-2, Raducanu threw in a weak service game. Serving at 3-2, Kenin the aggressor was back, this time with a cleaner, calmer approach—to take the final set, 6-4.
“It was a roller coaster match,” Kenin said on court. “I’m just super happy to have won it.”
WHAT IT MEANS: There’s a guaranteed American in Kenin’s immediate future: the winner of the match between No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula and Shelby Rogers, ranked No. 356. They’re scheduled to play Day 2’s last match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
MATCH POINT: Deeper in Kenin’s quarter yet another American looms. Caroline Dolehide, ranked No. 49, was the surprise winner of a two-hour and 40-minute marathon against compatriot Danielle Collins, the No. 11 seed.
