Emma Raducanu has stormed into the second round of the US Open after her opening win against Ena Shibahara.
Raducanu enjoyed playing with Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open mixed doubles event, although the pair fell in their opening match.
But Raducanu avoided that fate in the singles, defeating Shibahara 6-1, 6-2 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.
Shibahara had made it to the main draw via qualifying, but fell to the 2021 champion after one hour and two minutes.
The Briton is seeking her second US Open title and second career Grand Slam title, having defeated Leylah Fernandez in their New York final four years ago.
Emma Raducanu breaks career record in US Open first round
Raducanu clinched her 25th victory of the 2025 season against Shibahara, the most she has won in a year.
And her one-hour, two-minute victory also represents a record, with the British number one securing the quickest win of her career.
Raducanu remarkably clinched her only WTA title at the US Open, which also remarkably arrived on her main draw debut.
Injuries and coaching disruptions have impacted her career negatively since then, but the 22-year-old has returned to being a very formidable opponent on the court.
Reacting to her opening win at the US Open, tennis legend Martina Navratilova said on Sky Sports Tennis: “Emma played like the defending champion that she was in 2022. She did not play like a person who has not won a match here in three years.
“She just needs to play straightforward tennis and that’s exactly what she did. She only had seven winners, but only six unforced errors.
“So very solid performance. She let Shibahara hit some winners but also a lot of mistakes and she was playing with joy.
“So I don’t know if she’s happy because she is winning or winning because she is happy but those two go hand in hand.”
Former British number one Tim Henman added: “I think if you were going to write that script before you go out for the first round of a Grand Slam over how you want your first match to go, I think this was absolutely ideal.
“There were a few tight games where Raducanu was able to come through but I think she stamped her authority so well at the beginning of the first and second sets so gave her opponent no time to settle in, even though she had come through three rounds of qualifying.
“Raducanu was just completely a class apart and it was important for her. You forget that having been the champion in 2021 not to have won another match would have been in the back of her mind.
“A Sunday start I don’t think is that easy, first up, so the nerves were there but she dealt with them extremely well.”
