Emma Raducanu concedes 'it hasn't been easy' as she overcomes weather delay to beat Jaqueline Cristian in Korea Open
Published 17/09/2025 at 16:15 GMT+1
Emma Raducanu overcame a lengthy weather delay and an emotional first set to dispatch Jaqueline Cristian in the Korea Open first round. The British No. 1 has endured a week marred by backlash upon her withdrawal from the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Next up for Raducanu is an encounter with Barbora Krejcikova, as she attempts to make the Korea Open quarter-finals for a second straight year.
Raducanu says top players 'really lock in' against her after Rybakina loss
Video credit: SNTV
Emma Raducanu overcame a lengthy weather delay to dispatch Jaqueline Cristian in the Korea Open first round.
Raducanu’s 6-3 6-4 win over Cristian had originally been scheduled for Tuesday, only for heavy rain to postpone it until late on Wednesday.
The British No. 1, who has faced backlash upon withdrawing from Great Britain's team for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seoul, looked on the cusp of tears in the first set, before going on to claim victory in two hours and two minutes.
"I'm super happy to have won," Raducanu said. "It hasn't been easy. I feel like I've played this match the last three days. To have pulled through after waiting, I'm super pleased at how I came through.
"Jaqueline is a really tough opponent and has had great results recently.
"[They were] tough conditions, very slow, long rallies and long points, so happy to have got through."
Raducanu looked close to tears after netting a forehand that provided her opponent with two break points when the scores were locked at 3-3 in the first set.
Yet, the 22-year-old rallied to hold before going on to take a 6-3 first set victory in one hour and seven minutes.
Raducanu then twice broke Cristian's serve early in the second set, before breaking again in the ninth game to serve for the match.
The 2021 US Open champion will next face a fellow major champion, Barbora Krejcikova, as she attempts to make the quarter-finals for a second straight year.
Elsewhere, Cameron Norrie suffered a dismal 6-7 (3) 6-4 7-6 (2) defeat against the 304th-ranked Chinese wildcard Zhou Yi at the Chengdu Open.
The 20-year-old saved a match point to take the victory.
Speaking on court to Sky Sports after the victory, Zhou said: "I’ve been waiting for a whole year to come back here. I did it by myself this time and I got this. I’m so happy, I cannot explain, I’m just so happy.
"It’s been a tough year for me. I had to go get some wins and try to keep my points up because this is the first time I got so many points in my life [laughing].
"But I feel like mentally I’ve been improving a lot. I feel like I’m not the same [inaudible] as before. I’ve definitely improved. Maybe that’s why I had the ability to come through today. I’m just so happy."
Watch and stream top tennis action live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+
Related Topics
Thoughts?
Advertisement
Advertisement