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• Emma Raducanu promises more after reaching Stuttgart Open quarter-finals

  Emma Raducanu says the best is yet to come as she continued her excellent form by making it through to the quarter-final of the Stuttgart Open.

  The 2021 US Open champion beat Linda Noskova 6-0 7-5 in Germany to set up a mouth-watering last-eight tie with world number one Iga Swiatek on Friday.

  Raducanu is making her way back after a torrid 2023 but looked excellent in winning her two ties in the Billie Jean King Cup at the weekend and then followed that up by swatting home favourite Angelique Kerber aside in Wednesday’s first round.

  She stepped it up again to dispose of the world number 31 to set up a repeat of the 2022 quarter-final with Swiatek.

  Despite all her troubles since winning the US Open in 2021, Raducanu never doubted the good times would return.

  “I am not too surprised because I have been working really hard on the training court and I knew it was just a matter of time,” she said in her on-court interview.

  “This isn’t my best I still have a long way to go. I am just really happy the rewards are starting to come on the match court.

  “You know how it is when you are training day in, day out you feel like the results aren’t going your way. It is never that far away, that is something I am learning.

  “Going through everything I have been through gives you a different appreciation, there is nothing like playing in front of fans and playing good tennis.”

  Her progress will face its toughest test when against the Polish world number one, who is a master of the clay court, but the Briton knows she is not under any pressure.

  Raducanu, whose world ranking of 303 will shoot up, added: “We played here two years ago in the quarters, I have come a long way in two years, and she has achieved a lot, I have nothing to lose, I can swing and enjoy it.

  “Hopefully recover in time. I’m good.”

• Katie Boulter: Emma Raducanu will be welcomed ‘with open arms’ by GB team-mates

  Emma Raducanu will be welcomed back into Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team “with open arms”, according to Katie Boulter.

  The former US Open champion will play just her second tie for her country this week in France, two years after making her debut against the Czech Republic.

  Injuries have prevented Raducanu being involved in the intervening ties, and she indicated at the Australian Open that she would prioritise her health this year when considering whether to play.

  But, with the tie on indoor clay, the same surface as her next WTA tournament in Stuttgart next week, Raducanu will join Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and debutant Francesca Jones in Le Portel.

  Boulter, who is a brand ambassador for Lexus, told the PA news agency: “I’m very pleased. We’ve missed her. We love having her back.

  “Obviously the number one thing is that she’s healthy. I’ve always said it for myself and it’s my biggest wish for her as well is that she can stay as healthy as possible. We’re going to be welcoming her with open arms for sure.”

  At 302, Raducanu is the lowest-ranked member of Anne Keothavong’s team, with Boulter at 28 and Dart also in the top 100, but it would be a major surprise if she was left on the bench for the tie on Friday and Saturday.

   

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  Raducanu won one of her two matches on her debut and showed promise in her first campaign on clay, traditionally the weakest surface for British players, two years ago.

   

  Keothavong’s side are undoubtedly underdogs, particularly having lost to France at the same stage last year on hard courts in Coventry.

  The home side are led by world number 23 Caroline Garcia, who recently defeated Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka on her way to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open, and Boulter said: “It’s a brutal match-up.

  “We’ve already been in this place before and we had it at home. I think if anything it could help us, we are completely the underdogs. I think we’ve got a free swing.

  “Garcia is clearly playing some very good tennis right now. But it’s another Billie Jean King Cup tie, anything can happen.

  “We’ve got to keep it very realistic, it’s everyone’s first week on clay. It’s not my favourite surface but I’m very excited to get on it. I think we will come together as a team and keep trying to push each other and I’m sure we’ll play some really good tennis.”

  Raducanu’s presence represents a boost for Britain compared to last year, as does the rapid rise of Boulter, who at 27 has surged into the top 30 for the first time.

  The Leicestershire player lifted her second, and biggest, WTA Tour title at the San Diego Open last month and has won more matches against top-50 opponents in the first three months of 2024 than in the rest of her career combined.

  “It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind,” said Boulter. “In some aspects I’m surprised, in other aspects I’m not surprised at all, which shows that I’ve really put a lot of work in and I feel like I’m going in the right direction.

  “I am very realistic at the same time. Not everything’s going to click every week. I think that’s where, going into the next part of the season (on clay), I’ve got a free swing, because it’s obviously something I’m not used to.

  “It’s something fresh and exciting but this last month has been a massive, massive leap for me.”

  The winners of the tie will qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seville in November.

• Danielle Collins wins Charleston Open to seal back-to-back titles

  Danielle Collins secured back-to-back tournament wins with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Daria Kasatkina in the Charleston Open final.

  After winning the Miami Open last week, Collins earned her 13th successive victory in style as she dropped just three games in her latest triumph.

  The American, who moved up to 15th in the world rankings, needed just 77 minutes to dismiss her opponent without facing a break point in the whole of the contest.

  https://x.com/WTA/status/1777063713234702821

  Collins said: “I had a lot of matches in Miami and I had a lot of matches here.

  “I had, at one point in this tournament, two matches in one day, which is not easy to pull off. I don’t know if I’ve done that before as a professional. I feel like the last time I did that was like in 12-and-unders.

  “So to be able to physically battle and push myself to a new limit gives me a lot of confidence. I’ve been so happy to be, obviously, playing at the level that I’ve been playing, but to be able to back it up two weeks in a row has just been fantastic.”