Sep 11, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Emma Raducanu of Great Britain celebrates with the championship trophy after her match against Leylah Fernandez of Canada (not pictured) in the women's singles final on day thirteen of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

tennis

Emma Raducanu vs. Ena Shibahara Head-to-Head, Prediction and Betting Odds for US Open 2025 Round-1

Winner to face Kudermetova or Tjen in Round-2.

Former champion Emma Raducanu starts her 2025 US Open journey against Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara in the opening round on Sunday. While Raducanu showed encouraging signs throughout the North American swing, Shibahara made a statement by coming through the qualifiers without dropping a set. With the help of BetMGM, we look to give you all the necessary details ahead of the final Grand Slam of the season.

Emma Raducanu vs Ena Shibahara Match Preview

After a long battle with injuries, Emma Raducanu has displayed the supremely high level we expect from her in the second half of 2025. It all started when the 22-year-old made a terrific run to the Miami Open QFs – beating the likes of Navarro and Anisimova along the way. After a topsy-turvy clay court campaign, Raducanu reached the last eight in Queen’s Club and final four at Washington DC. Her 24-17 win-loss record this year fails to show the consistent tennis she has been producing over the past couple of months.

"We are a great fit" 🤝

Emma Raducanu speaks ahead of the US Open about her new partnership with coach Francisco Roig.pic.twitter.com/nNLvUH3jHC
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 23, 2025

Constantly nearing the Top-100 but failing to complete the final leap of faith, Ena Shibahara is languishing at No. 130 in the world at present. Apart from a quarterfinal finish in Austin, seldom has the 27-year-old been able to break the door into the main draws of tour-level events. Although she is a household name on the doubles circuit, the US Open happens to be the only major where Shibahara has featured in the main draw. Nonetheless, she is a doubles Grand Slam finalist and mixed doubles Grand Slam champ – making her a potent threat.

Shibahara Success!

Letting out a squeal of excitement on the final point, Ena Shibahara completes a dominant win to qualify at the US Open for the 2nd straight year.

The 27yo from Japan rolls past #6 seed (and recent Cincinnati quarterfinalist) Varvara Gracheva, 6-0, 6-4. pic.twitter.com/NcQ1fXrBeK
— Tick Tock Tennis (@TickTockTennis) August 22, 2025

Emma Raducanu vs Ena Shibahara Head to Head Record

Raducanu has a 1-0 record in the head-to-head against Shibahara.

At the 2024 Nottingham Open, Raducanu called the shots against Shibahara in the Round of 32. A first set annihilation was followed up by a drop in level in the second set. However, the Briton found her range when it mattered most, and closed out the match in two sets. As a result, this will be the first hard court battle contested between these starlets at a neutral venue.

Event	Round	Winner	Score
2024 Nottingham	Round of 32	Emma Raducanu	6-1 6-4

Emma Raducanu vs Ena Shibahara Career Comparison

Emma Raducanu	Category	Ena Shibahara
35	Current Ranking	130
143-79	Career W-L Record	154-113
24-17	YTD W-L Record	21-20
1	Career Titles	0
0	YTD Titles	0
1	Grand Slams	0

Emma Raducanu vs Ena Shibahara US Open 2025 Prediction

Shibahara’s doubles prowess was on full display in the qualifiers, as her return of serve and net play was second to none. Considering this will be a day game like Shibahara’s final round of qualifying, Raducanu will be fully aware that she must adapt to the heat and use the conditions to her advantage. The 22-year-old is yet to win a match at Flushing Meadows since taking home the championship four years ago. She will come out with an aggressive mindset to alter her fortunes.

Prediction: Emma Raducanu in straight sets.

Emma Raducanu vs Ena Shibahara US Open 2025 Betting Odds

Raducanu comes in as the strong favourite, with 1/8 odds of beating her opponent. On the other hand, Shibahara’s 5/1 numbers make her a minnow ahead of Sunday’s tussle. According to the money line, Raducanu has an 83% chance of progressing to the Round of 64. Here are the odds for the match result, as well as in-match specifics (as per BetMGM):

Emma Raducanu Win: 1/8
Ena Shibahara Win: 5/1

Total Games >18.5: 8/13
Total Games By Raducanu <12.5: 4/6
Total Games By Shibahara <7.5: 10/11
Shibahara +6.5 (Game Handicap): 4/9
Raducanu to Win 2-0: 4/9
Total Number of Tiebreaks <0.5: 2/9

(According to BetMGM: BetMGM offers exclusive promo codes, bonus deals and accurate odds for users upon signing up. Use BetMGM to ace your betting game in all sports!)

(Image Credits: Robert Deutsch, Imagn Images)

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Emma Raducanu

Ena Shibahara

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US Open 2025

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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.