Emma Raducanu explains why she was 'really upset' before beating Rebecca Sramkova at the Queen's Club Championships

Emma Raducanu has kicked off her grass-court campaign with two big wins as she looks to make her presence felt at Queen’s.

The British star won her opening match at the 2025 Queen’s Club Championships in straight sets when Raducanu defeated Cristina Bucsa 6-1, 6-2.

She had already tasted victory at the newest WTA tournament on the calendar, as she and Katie Boulter won their opening doubles match in straight sets.

Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images for LTA

‘Boultercanu’s’ run at Queen’s came to an end in the second round, however, falling to the top seeds 2-6, 5-7.

After returning to winning ways in the singles, Raducanu explained why she was ‘really upset’ before her second-round match.

Losing in the doubles left Emma Raducanu ‘really upset’ before second-round win over Rebecca Sramkova

Raducanu beat Slovakian star Rebecca Sramkova in her second round match 6-4, 6-1 to book her place in the quarterfinals.

During her on-court interview, Raducanu explained how her defeat in doubles on Wednesday affected her overnight.

“Honestly, it was actually a real challenge for me today,” she said.

“I’m not used to playing doubles. I lost the match yesterday, and I was really upset. I really felt like I was out of the tournament, so to get myself fired up for this one was really difficult, but I’m happy to have gotten myself through.”

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Writing ‘Long live Boultercanu’ on the camera lens following her win over Sramkova, Raducanu was asked whether they have any plans to compete in doubles again in the future.

“I really want to play with Katie [Boulter] again in the future and maybe over the grass, but for sure in the future,” she said.

Reflecting on the match itself, Raducanu admitted it wasn’t her ‘cleanest performance’.

“I’m really pleased to get through that, it wasn’t easy, I don’t think it was my cleanest performance, but I’m really happy to have pushed through in some tight moments that decided the first set,” she said.

“It was really helpful when it was coming back in the first set, and I was letting that lead come back to have a big roar of support to get me through that last service game, so I appreciate that.”

Raducanu then gave her verdict on Slovakia’s Sramkova, who had knocked out defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in her first-round match.

“Yeah it’s really difficult, I watched her play last year at the Billie Jean King Cup,” she said.

“She loves hitting a flat and fast ball, on these courts it really stays low and it’s difficult to deal with. I came out ready, expecting everything and I’m happy I was able to get off to a good start and give myself a little bit of a lead.”

Raducanu impressed the fans on the Andy Murray Arena, as well as a former British number one who was commentating for BBC Sport.

Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images for LTA

“Emma Raducanu was absolutely fantastic in this match, no wonder the big smiles,” said Annabel Croft.

“I don’t think she could have played any better, just that one little patch of play when she lost a bit of control on the ball and got a little bit edgy.

“On the whole, served beautifully, hitting the ball out of the middle of the strings into the corners, dictating the play, great depth, use of that slice backhand to really mix in the pace.”

High praise from one British number one to another…

Emma Raducanu reclaims British number one ranking from Katie Boulter

When Boulter lost to Russia’s Diana Shnaider earlier in the day, she handed over the British number one ranking to her doubles partner, Raducanu.

Raducanu and Boulter are leading the way for British tennis right now alongside Sonay Kartal, with all three expected to be ranked inside the top 50 on Monday.

British live rank WTA Live Rank Name Points 1 36 Emma Raducanu 1,399 2 39 Katie Boulter 1,326 3 49 Sonay Kartal 1,138 4 118 Harriet Dart 622 5 131 Francesca Jones 558 Top five British players WTA Live Rankings

A title for Raducanu at Queen’s could see her rise to as high as 24th in the WTA rankings, which would see her seeded at Wimbledon next month.

The British star won’t want to get too far ahead of herself, however, and will first focus on her quarterfinal match.

Raducanu will take on either Qinwen Zheng or McCartney Kessler for a place in the Queen’s Club Championships quarterfinals on Friday, June 13.

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