A smiling Emma Raducanu at practice
Emma Raducanu’s first tournament of the 2025 North American hard-court swing has been confirmed as she will return to an event where she has fond memories.
The British No 1 has signed up for the Mubadala Citi DC Open with organisers revealing that three Grand Slam winners will be in the draw for the joint ATP-WTA event in Washington DC.
Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka will play in the women’s tournament and 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev will also compete in the men’s event.
Raducanu will make her third appearance at the WTA 500 event.
The 2021 US Open champion made her debut in 2022 when she was the second seed and she reached the quarter-final before losing in straight sets against Liudmilla Samsonova while last year she was handed a wildcard and also made it to the last eight before going down in three sets against Paula Badosa.
Spaniard Badosa went on to win the DC title last year as she defeated Marie Bouzkova in the final.
The Washington DC tournament – which runs from July 21 to 27 this year – will be Raducanu’s first event on the hard-courts after Wimbledon while she will most likely also feature in two WTA 1000 tournaments before the US Open.
The WTA Tour will move to Montreal for the Canadian Open on July 28 before returning to the United States for the Cincinnati Open in Mason, Ohio, on August 7.
Both the Montreal and Cincinnati events are 96-player draws so Raducanu is set to earn direct entries into the WTA 1000 tournaments.
The swing will then come to a culmination at Flushing Meadows for the US Open, the scene of Raducanu’s greatest triumph.
The 22-year-old, who has a 15-12 win-loss record so far in 2025, has risen to No 36 in the WTA Rankings following good performances in recent months as she reached the quarter-finals of the HSBC Championships on grass last week and the Miami Open on hard courts in March.
However, she has also struggled with a back injury as she withdrew from this week’s Berlin Tennis Open.
“I have been struggling with my back since Strasbourg [in May], and it’s just been something that’s been on and off,” she said.
“I have been managing it pretty well over the last few weeks.”
When asked if the injury could have an impact on Wimbledon.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “It’s been lingering for the last few weeks, and I have had, like, back issues before. I think it’s just a vulnerability of mine. I know I need to take good care of it.
“I’m not overly concerned that it’s something serious, but I know it’s something that’s very annoying and needs proper and careful management.”
