Emma Raducanu extends impressive run of form and shows fitness work is paying off after beating close friend Elena Gabriela Ruse in the Canadian Open

Less than 48 hours after defeat in the Washington semi-finals, Emma Raducanu was back on court and back in the wins across the border in Montreal.

In a demonstration of her developing physical resilience, the British No 1 beat Romania’s Elena Gabriela Ruse 6-2, 6-4 and will play American Peyton Stearns in the second round of the Canadian Open.

In her still-brief career Raducanu has struggled to string together week-on-week performances but since the recruitment of Japanese fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura in the off-season her physical conditioning appears much improved.

Having played only 13 events last year this is already her 16th tournament of 2025 with four months of the season still to come. This time last year, having reached the quarters in Washington, Raducanu decamped back to London and was not seen again until a tearful first-round defeat at the US Open.

The 22-year-old admitted last year in New York that she would look to ‘manage my schedule differently’ and has been true to her word. 

For a player of her talents, it was obvious to us observers that Raducanu needed to improve her physicality and simply play more matches – both boxes have been ticked this season and the result is she has a fair chance of achieving a seeding for the US Open.

At No 33 in the world rankings she is on the cusp of the top 32 which would give her a degree of protection in the draw – Raducanu will know the value of that having lost in the Grand Slams this year to Iga Swiatek twice and Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon.

As for her coaching situation, Mark Petchey was absent in Washington as he continues to juggle his broadcasting commitments but returned to the box here, alongside hitting partner Alexis Canter who was with her in DC.

Since this ad-hoc arrangement with Petchey began in Miami, Raducanu has reached two quarters and one semi-final, and has won at least one match in each event she has played.

The foundation of this consistency has been the return of serve, which continues to look her best shot. Ruse was broken five times and looked under pressure on every service game.

After a straightforward first set, at 3-3, 40-30 down on the Romanian’s serve the match was teetering. But from there Raducanu strung together three superb points: a forehand winner flashed down the line, a backhand return which rocked Ruse back and then a lovely angled passing shot.

Ruse did break back but Raducanu took the next two games to secure the win.

‘She’s a close friend of mine,’ said Raducanu. ‘It’s not easy seeing her name in the draw but I’m really pleased with how I performed.’