The 22-year-old stepped away from the WTA Tour after reaching the quarter-finals of the Miami Open last month.
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Emma Raducanu made a strong return to the court with a straight-sets victory over Suzan Lamens at the Madrid Open. The 22-year-old had taken a break from the WTA Tour after reaching the quarter-finals at the Miami Open last month, using the time to focus on training in preparation for the clay-court season.
She began her run in the Spanish capital with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Lamens. Raducanu, who is still working informally with Andy Murray’s former coach Mark Petchey, delivered a composed and confident performance against the Dutch player to earn a second-round clash with Marta Kostyuk.
Raducanu will be satisfied with her performance in the opening set, which was a closely contested battle featuring multiple breaks of serve. The Brit showed her composure in the tie-break, rallying from 2-3 down by winning four consecutive points to take the lead.
Lamens, ranked 73rd in the world, took an early 2-0 lead in the second set, hinting at a potential comeback. However, Raducanu quickly regained momentum, securing two breaks to go up 5-4 before confidently serving out the match—redeeming herself from last year’s disappointing Madrid Open loss to Maria Carle.
