Emma Raducanu Blasts Past Fitness Scare to Reach Queen's Final with Two Wins in One Day

London, United Kingdom – Emma Raducanu returned to the Andy Murray Arena for her second match in five hours with lingering doubts about her physical condition after slipping on the slick grass earlier in the day and hurting her left thigh. By the time she had launched herself into consecutive backhand and forehand down-the-line winners to snatch an early break, those concerns had completely dissipated.

What followed was one of her very best matches as the British No 1 dismantled the talented 18-year-old Iva Jovic 6-2, 6-2 in front of an ebullient home crowd to reach the final at Queen's. The victory sets up a Sunday showdown with Croatian veteran Donna Vekic, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2024.

"It means everything to be making the final here and to be making it at home in London," Raducanu said. "I love London. It's my home. It's where I grew up. It's everything to me. So to be receiving the amount of support that I do here, it's very emotional, and yeah, I'm just really proud of myself."

'I'm Back and Better': Raducanu Finds Her Form

This is Raducanu's third tour-level final – her first being the remarkable 2021 US Open triumph as a qualifier, and her second coming this year at the WTA 250 event in Cluj, where she lost heavily to Sorana Cirstea. With wins over world No 18 Cirstea and No 19 Jovic here in consecutive days at a WTA 500 event, this is the third time she has defeated two top 20 opponents in a tournament. Remarkably, she is yet to drop a set.

The quality of her play has been even more impressive than the wins. After another tough defeat in Melbourne in January, Raducanu said her aim was to just "hit the ball to the corners and hard." She played this way relentlessly from start to finish against Jovic, striking the ball so early, cleanly and with authority, not hesitating with her forehand and even closing down the net confidently. She has not struck with this cleanliness since the US Open nearly five years ago.

"The whole week I have been playing really, really good tennis and the brand of tennis that I really want to play. I wouldn't say it's necessarily the old Emma. I think it's the new Emma, because you take all the lessons and experience, you know, all the different ups and downs, and you take everything. You understand a lot more what's going on and what works for you. So I'd say, yeah, I'm back and better," said Raducanu, smiling.

Overcoming Adversity: The Fall That Could Have Ended It All

Raducanu's performances have been particularly striking considering what preceded this tournament. She had lost six of her previous seven matches, her last win coming in March, in the middle of a miserable year that had been constantly disrupted by physical ailments. Her last showing, at the French Open, where she trailed 0-6, 1-4 before fighting to make the scoreline more respectable, was grim.

If there was any surface and season where Raducanu was going to find her way again, though, it was always going to be on grass. Considering how much doubt and tension often surrounds Raducanu, she naturally gains a lot from playing before a passionate home crowd. Moreover, the grass sits perfectly with her game. She moves much better on the surface than most, she enjoys the low bounce, and the faster conditions imbue her strokes with slightly more oomph.

Earlier in the day, everything had seemed to be progressing perfectly for Raducanu. She was leading 6-3, 3-1 in her quarter-final against Kamilla Rakhimova. Then, out of nowhere, she slipped on the slick grass. Raducanu emerged from her fall wincing and clutching her left thigh, clearly in pain, and as her lead evaporated, a victory began to look in serious doubt. However, Raducanu impressively dug deep and held her nerve to drag herself into the semi-finals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over the Uzbekistani lucky loser.

"I think it's amazing what adrenaline and support can do, and the mind as well," Raducanu said of her thigh issue. "So right now I still have to kind of assess, but yeah, I know we're going to do everything we possibly can for one more tomorrow."

Tactical Masterclass Against Rising Star Jovic

This was a match-up between two very similar players. Both Jovic and Raducanu are offensive players with sweet two-handed backhands who thrive on taking the ball early and redirecting pace off both wings. They also strike the ball with tidy, smooth technique but can be overpowered by stronger players. This match rested entirely on who could consistently dictate.

Raducanu was levels above one of the most talented youngsters in the game. She burst into the match desperate to take the initiative and played brilliantly, pounding the ball off both wings and changing directions. Her backhand was particularly sublime. She raced to a 4-1 lead and continued her offensive barrage even after Jovic took a medical timeout midway through the first set.

There were still numerous moments when Raducanu's momentum could have been snapped, such as when she lost her serve for the first time at 2-0 or faced a total of four break points at 3-1 and 4-2. Every time she was under pressure, Raducanu found a precise first serve or trusted herself to step inside the baseline and press hard until the point was hers.

Final Showdown: Raducanu vs Vekic

Raducanu's quest for a second title will take her face-to-face with Donna Vekic, a Croatian veteran who, despite her status as a lucky loser ranked No 76, is also an accomplished player who thrives on grass. A Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2024, Vekic reached a career-high ranking of No 17 last year and possesses the experience and grass-court pedigree to trouble any opponent.

Vekic reached the final with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 victory over British No 3 Katie Boulter, who had little energy left less than 24 hours after defeating world No 2 Elena Rybakina in a dramatic three-set match – the biggest victory of Boulter's career. The contrasting paths to the final – Raducanu's marathon two-match day versus Vekic's relatively straightforward semi-final – could be a factor in Sunday's championship match.

The head-to-head between Raducanu and Vekic stands at 1-0 in the Croatian's favor, with Vekic winning their only previous meeting at the 2022 Kremlin Cup. However, both players have evolved significantly since then, and on grass, Raducanu looks like a completely different player from the one who struggled through the clay court season.

What a Title Would Mean

A victory on Sunday would give Raducanu her second career WTA title, nearly five years after her stunning US Open triumph as an 18-year-old qualifier. It would also be her first title on home soil, in front of a British crowd that has supported her through every high and low of her tumultuous career.

More importantly, it would serve as definitive proof that Raducanu has finally put the injury struggles and inconsistent form behind her. After a year plagued by physical ailments, coaching changes, and mounting pressure, a Queen's title would propel her back into the world's top 20 and provide the perfect launchpad for Wimbledon, which begins in just two weeks.

Raducanu has always maintained that her best tennis is still ahead of her. On Saturday at Queen's, she offered the most compelling evidence yet that she might be right.