Emma Raducanu’s campaign at the inaugural Singapore Tennis Open ended earlier than expected, as the British star fell to Spain’s Cristina Busca in a gripping first-round clash. Despite her shocking exit, Raducanu remained optimistic, emphasizing on the positives she could draw from the marathon encounter.
Raducanu kicked off her 2025 tennis season by participating in her fourth Australian Open campaign. The unseeded player cruised past Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Amanda Anisimova to reach the third round for the first time, where she lost 1-6, 0-6 to eventual semifinalist Iga Swiatek.
As the seventh seed in Singapore, Raducanu faced a tough first-round opponent in World No. 101 Cristina Busca. The match turned into a marathon, lasting over three hours and pushing both players to their limits. Raducanu started strong, taking the first set 7-5. However, Busca fought back, winning the next two sets by the same scoreline.
Despite the loss, Raducanu remained philosophical and optimistic. She acknowledged that her performance in Singapore was an improvement over her Australian Open campaign, even if the result didn’t reflect it.
“I think I’m in a pretty good place with everything and I think I actually played better than I did in Melbourne, so that is ironic,” Raducanu said after the match (quoted via ESPN).
I think it was really small margins in it. I honestly thought I played pretty well today,” she added. “She [Bucsa] just played unbelievable and, credit to her, she kept it up the whole match.”
Raducanu emphasized the importance of gaining positive match experience, stating:
“For me to be playing this kind of match, all I need is time on court and a match-competitive situation, which I got today. I got it in abundance — over three hours of it — so, for me, it’s really valuable because every match I play, I feel like it’s a win.”
