Emma Raducanu ends long wait for US Open victory as dominant British star reaches second round for first time since stunning 2021 triumph

With a doctor of thoroughbred racehorses in her corner, Emma Raducanu galloped to her fastest ever Grand Slam win - and her first at the US Open since the 2021 final.

It took just 62 minutes of the 2025 US Open to see Raducanu into the second round, as she thrashed Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2 in the first match of the day.

Watching on was a man who knows something about speed. French chiropractor Jerome Poupel has worked with Formula One driver David Coulthard and legendary jockey A P McCoy.

He also treats the racehorses themselves - and apparently sees something of the equine about his new client.

‘My (Chinese zodiac) star sign is the horse,’ said Raducanu. ‘And he said my character is similar to a horse! Can be quite stubborn, dig their heels in. Wear their emotion on their sleeve, if they're not feeling like they want to do something they probably won't!

‘He's got experience so hopefully he can read me. I'm just happy to have him around. He's got so much diverse experience that it's great to have that insight.’

Emma Raducanu produced a dominant display to comfortably beat Japan's Ena Shibahara

This is Raducanu's first win at the US Open since her historic tournament victory in 2021

Raducanu is a long-time petrolhead and so is fascinated by that branch of Poupel’s experience, too.

‘Racing drivers have to react at such high speed, with so much force going through their bodies,’ said the 22-year-old. ‘I've always been curious about that, I’ve asked him about that and reaction time.

‘I want to improve my reaction times and what better person to help than someone who's worked with F1 drivers.’

Poupel has only been a recent apparition in Raducanu’s player box but she revealed they have been working together for much longer, as she attempts to fix intermittent back issues.

‘He's been helping me for the last year,’ she said. ‘I've had back problems so he's just really helped with that. As I've been playing more tennis and training more, it's important for me to stay on top of that.

‘I'm enjoying having him around. He’s a great character. Calm but eccentric, smooth talking, just a lot of fun to be around.’

He has also worked with horses such as three-time Champion Hurdle runner-up My Tent or Yours - although no testimonials are available from the Irish thoroughbred.

From horses, we turn to monkeys - and the large one which had been clamped to Raducanu’s back since she won the title here in 2021.

This can be a happy hunting ground for Raducanu for many years to come

A bag of nerves as defending champion, she lost in the first round in 2022 to Alize Cornet, missed out with injury in 2023 and fell to tearful defeat against Sofia Kenin last year. But this ruthless victory rubber-stamped Raducanu’s pre-tournament assertion that Flushing Meadows is her happy place once again.

‘I wanted to win a match here really bad,’ said Raducanu, slipping into the local lingo. ‘It has been on my mind. It's been four years and it's a very special tournament for me. I did feel different coming into it this year but still, it's in the back of your head. So I'm just very pleased to have overcome that.’

The 22-year-old was wearing the same shade of red as in 2021, and this was a victory every bit as dominant as those which drove her towards that title.

Admittedly, the severity of the scoreline owed more to the hopelessness of Shibahara than the brilliance of Raducanu. The 27-year-old Shibahara, more known for her doubles skills, sent down two double faults in her opening service game and went downhill from there. For Raducanu, it was a victory achieved with such ease and brevity that she went straight from her press duties to the practice courts for a further workout.

There she looked in great spirits as she continued her work with new coach Franciso Roig, formerly of team Rafael Nadal. With Roig and the horse whisperer in her corner, Raducanu’s career looks in as good a spot as it has been since that remarkable run here four years ago.

The world No36 will play another qualifier next, after Indonesia’s Janice Tjen upset No24 seed Veronika Kudermetova. That second-round match is on Wednesday, and Raducanu will spend some of her time off feeding her growing love of art by visiting the Frick Collection.

‘I have been into my art a lot more recently,’ said Raducanu, who is taking an art history course. ‘My nana - not my actual grandma but I like to think I'm her adopted granddaughter - she's from New York and she told me to go to the Frick Collection. It's reopened after being under construction so that will be really exciting.’

The Upper East Side gallery was closed for renovations in 2021 but has been back in business since April. For an analogy of Emma Raducanu’s career, you could do worse.

The recruitment of Poupel is further evidence of Raducanu’s determination to consign injury issues to the past. Between the end of her 2021 and the start of this season, she could barely go a month without some sort of problem cropping up. In December she brought in Japanese fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura and since then has been relatively injury-free. The exception has been back spasms: one over Christmas and one on the clay whose effects lingered through Wimbledon.

Raducanu has acted decisively, and in Poupel she has a blue-chip operator. He has worked with All Black Ali Williams and several tennis players - former world No5 Daniela Hantuchova describes him as: ‘The best chiropractor and the best doctor in the world.’

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