Jul 5, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Emma Raducanu of Great Britain celebrates winning her match against Maria Sakkara of Greece (not shown) on day five of The Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

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Emma Raducanu Delivers Strong Statement on WTA’s 52-Year-Long Absence From Queen’s Club Championships

Raducanu has entered doubles QF and singles R16.

Great Britain’s Wimbledon hopeful Emma Raducanu stamped her authority on Spain’s Cristina Bucsa on Tuesday, opening her 2025 Queen’s Club Championships account with a 6-1 6-2 victory. It was a near-perfect performance from the 22-year-old, who was playing on the newly inaugurated Andy Murray Arena for the first time. Post her success, Raducanu divulged being inspired by Murray and the joy she felt from women being able to play at the HSBC Championships after five decades of omission.

Raducanu had an incredible 78% first serve win percentage on Tuesday. Her forehand and slice were on song, making merry as the sun was shining bright in London. Meanwhile, Bucsa lacked the patience and speed to match her opponent – often resulting in a lofted slice or unforced error mid-rally. More than anything, it was a pleasure to witness the 2021 US Open champion smiling on the court again.

The Brit required just over an hour to dismantle Bucsa. Just 24 hours prior to her match, three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray was in attendance as Petra Kvitova and Beatriz Haddad Maia kicked off proceedings at the Queen’s Club. He also unveiled the Andy Murray Arena – named after him to honor the Scottish legend’s contributions to the sport.

Raducanu on Andy Murray and the Return of Women’s Tennis in Queen’s

The queens are taking over the Queen’s Club this week 👑

Catch Raducanu and other WTA stars in action at the #HSBCChampionships on Tennis Channel 📲 pic.twitter.com/HpeqFGUGd9
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 10, 2025

Murray, now 38, was a five-time singles champion at the HSBC Championships. He also captured the doubles crown on a solitary occasion. The fact that Murray has been a trailblazer in the advocacy of women’s tennis made it a special moment for the West London crowd – as the competition opened its doors to women’s tennis after 52 years. The former World No. 1 was also coached by Olga Morozova – the last WTA player to win the championship in Queen’s Club back in 1973.

Asked about the iconic moment after her victory, Raducanu was honest in her admissions. “Yeah, it’s incredibly special [being able to play in Queen’s on the Andy Murray Arena],” Raducanu said with a smile on her face. As the first British woman to win a Grand Slam in 2021 since Virginia Wade, there is no doubt that the prodigious talent is an inspiration to tons of women around the world.

“I saw the arena. It’s amazing what Andy has achieved here and in general in his career with Wimbledon. I mean, he is such an inspiration to all of us and to see him open up this court was immense yesterday. For us girls to have a tournament here finally after watching the TV, and [looking at] the men play, it’s really nice.”

Raducanu is also part of the women’s doubles draw this week – partnering up with national compatriot Katie Boulter to set up a formidable pair. They will step on court for quarterfinals action on Wednesday, before Raducanu returns for her singles Round of 16 on Thursday.

Andy Murray

Emma Raducanu

HSBC Championships

Katie Boulter

Queen’s Club Championship

Tennis

WTA

WTA 500

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.