Emma Raducanu, the British number one, stormed into the semi-finals of the Transylvania Open with a commanding victory over Poland's Maja Chwalinska. The 23-year-old, who is still seeking her first WTA title since winning the US Open in 2021, rushed through the first set without losing a game and never looked back.
Chwalinska, ranked 146th in the world, managed to stay in the match for a while, but Raducanu's form was too strong. She won the second set 6-0 before wrapping up the victory with a convincing win in the third set. The result marked Raducanu's fourth quarter-final appearance since her US Open triumph five years ago.
After the match, Raducanu expressed her happiness with her performance and praised her ability to overcome adversity during the match. "I'm very happy with my performance today," she said. "I played a great match from the beginning. As always there's some moments of adversity you have to overcome and I did that well in the second set, so I am really proud of that."
Raducanu will now face Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova in the semi-finals. Oliynykova, who saved 21 out of 23 break points against Chinese fourth seed Wang Xinyu to reach her first WTA Tour semi-final, is expected to give Raducanu a tough test.
Meanwhile, British number two Sonay Kartal suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Sara Bejlek in the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals. Kartal lost 10 consecutive games and was broken back after coming up midway through the second set. Bejlek won the match 6-0 6-2 to reach her first WTA Tour semi-final.
Kartal's loss marked her third straight quarter-final defeat, with her only victory coming in a tournament title win in 2024. She will need to regroup and refocus if she wants to make a deep run in the rest of the season.
Chwalinska, ranked 146th in the world, managed to stay in the match for a while, but Raducanu's form was too strong. She won the second set 6-0 before wrapping up the victory with a convincing win in the third set. The result marked Raducanu's fourth quarter-final appearance since her US Open triumph five years ago.
After the match, Raducanu expressed her happiness with her performance and praised her ability to overcome adversity during the match. "I'm very happy with my performance today," she said. "I played a great match from the beginning. As always there's some moments of adversity you have to overcome and I did that well in the second set, so I am really proud of that."
Raducanu will now face Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova in the semi-finals. Oliynykova, who saved 21 out of 23 break points against Chinese fourth seed Wang Xinyu to reach her first WTA Tour semi-final, is expected to give Raducanu a tough test.
Meanwhile, British number two Sonay Kartal suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Sara Bejlek in the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals. Kartal lost 10 consecutive games and was broken back after coming up midway through the second set. Bejlek won the match 6-0 6-2 to reach her first WTA Tour semi-final.
Kartal's loss marked her third straight quarter-final defeat, with her only victory coming in a tournament title win in 2024. She will need to regroup and refocus if she wants to make a deep run in the rest of the season.
but chwalinska wasnt that bad lol 
i mean, ranking isnt everything, but still gotta give raducanu props for her game 
I was at that age when Emma Raducanu won the US Open 
! It's amazing how our game evolves as we get older, don't you think? We must have been young and hungry like her back then, trying to make a name for ourselves. Anyway, I'm glad to see she's still got it 
... now let's see how she'll do against Oleksandra Oliynykova 
!
I'm loving Emma Raducanu's vibe right now! She's like a machine on the court, totally dominating her opponents. The fact that she can overcome adversity during matches is super impressive - it shows her mental strength and resilience. Can't wait to see how she takes on Oliynykova in the semis! 
but we've all been there right? Time to bounce back and focus on the next tournament! 
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. Sonay Kartal's loss was pretty brutal, though - 10 consecutive games lost? That's not something you can just bounce back from quickly 
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Emma Raducanu is on FIRE 
. And can we talk about how proud she should be of herself? She's already thinking about overcoming adversity, which is the mark of a true champion 
. Ten consecutive losses? That's just mental 
. Bejlek deserved that win imo 
10 consecutive losses is just rough 
3 straight quarter-finals, 0 wins 
she needs a major overhaul in her game 
raducanu is looking strong tho, her form is insane 
. She's really showing why she won the US Open all those years ago 
. Oliynykova's gonna give Raducanu a tough test, that's for sure