Emma Raducanu breezes past Cristina Bucsa in first round of Queen's Club Championships as Wimbledon preparation starts strongly
Published 10/06/2025 at 18:21 GMT+1
Emma Raducanu said she was "locked in" as she dismissed Cristina Bucsa in a little over an hour to secure safe passage to the second round of the Queen's Club Championships. As women's tennis returned to the London event for the first time in 52 years, Raducanu soaked up the adulation of the home crowd en route to dispatching her Spanish counterpart 6-1 6-2 in lightning fashion.
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Emma Raducanu was "locked in" on her maiden appearance at the Queen's Club Championship to down Cristina Bucsa in straight sets.
Raducanu delighted the home crowd at Andy Murray Arena as women's tennis returned to the London event for the first time in 52 years - dispatching Bucsa 6-1 6-2 in an hour and five minutes.
The 2021 US Open champion was undeterred in her work, with Bucsa failing to break the Brit's serve throughout a dominant afternoon.
"I must say I was locked in today, so [I am] very pleased with my performance," Raducanu said on-court.
"A little bit nervous for sure at the beginning, my first time playing on this court at Queen’s in London. The support was incredible."
The victory marked a winning start to Raducanu's grass-court campaign following a second-round exit at the French Open to eventual semi-finalist Iga Swiatek.
Building up to Wimbledon, which gets underway in less than three weeks' time, Raducanu saw positive signs to her preparation on the surface as she looks for a deep run in the home Slam, quite like her run to the fourth round of last year's edition.
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"I would say I’m still trying to find my groove on this surface," Raducanu said. "There are certain shots I feel like I’m still a little bit late on, so I’m working on that.
"I knew today was going to be a really difficult match; I actually lost to Cristina earlier on in the year, so I was really trying to fight and make sure that didn’t happen again.
"I just want to stay here playing at Queen's and playing as many matches as I possibly can."
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Raducanu said it was "incredibly special" to play at Queen's, a tournament previously headlined on numerous occasions by Andy Murray.
The 22-year-old took centre stage on the court now named after the three-time Grand Slam winner, and expressed her delight that players on the women's tour now have the opportunity to play at the event.
"It’s amazing what Andy achieved in his career," Raducanu said. "He’s such an inspiration to all of us.
"To see him open up this court was immense yesterday. For us girls to have a tournament here finally after watching the TV and men play is really nice."
Raducanu will face either Rebecca Sramkova or seventh seed Barbora Krejcikova in the second round.
She also reached the second round in the doubles draw alongside Katie Boulter, and will face Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Routliffe for a place in the semi-finals.
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