Emma Raducanu opened her 2026 grass-court season with a straight-sets win on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old beat Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova 6-0, 6-3 at the Queen's Club HSBC Championships, wrapping up the match in just one hour on Andy Murray Arena.
Raducanu Plots Grass-Court Comeback After French Open Loss
Raducanu entered the Queen's Club tournament coming off a first-round French Open loss alongside a bout with a post-viral illness. Prior to that, she similarly exited the 2026 Strasbourg Open in the opening round.
However, with former coach Andrew Richardson back in her corner, the Brit showed few signs of rust.
She played aggressive, front-foot tennis against Blinkova from the opening serve, and swept through the first set without dropping a game. And a brief rain delay at the HSBC Championships did little to slow her down.
How Emma Raducanu Fended Off Anna Blinkova’s 2nd-Set Charge
Wind picked up in the second set, helping Blinkova to find her footing. The Russian subsequently broke Raducanu's serve twice as the Brit struggled with double faults.
Still, Raducanu regrouped when it mattered. She earned a late break to go up 5-3, before converting her second match point to close out the win.
The former US Open champion reached the quarterfinals at Queen's Club last year, but she'll look to go deeper this time around.
Up next is a second-round match against Sorana Cirstea, who survived Maddison Inglis in a tough three-set HSBC Championships battle earlier today.
