Jan 18, 2024; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Emma Raducanu of Great Britain reacts during her match against Yafan Wang (not pictured) of China in Round 2 of the Women's Singles on Day 5 of the Australian Open tennis at 1573 Arena.

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Emma Raducanu Overcomes Emotional Breakdown to Book Barbora Krejcikova Showdown at WTA Korea Open 2025

22-year-old chose to play Seoul over the BJK Cup this week.

Former World No. 10 Emma Raducanu had to slay her physical and mental demons to emerge victorious on Wednesday. The British young gun overcame an emotional roller-coaster in the opening set to defeat Jaqueline Cristian 6-3 6-4 in the 2025 Korea Open Round of 32. The 2021 US Open champion will now take on two-time Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.

It was a challenging opening round match-up for Raducanu, who is currently ranked No. 33 in the world when compared with Cristian, who is World No. 41. The Romanian managed to keep up with her 22-year-old opponent for large chunks of the battle; however, Raducanu used her power and tenacity to push herself over the line in the clutch moments. With Krejcikova awaiting in the next round and a potential quarterfinal vs Iga Swiatek on the cards, it only gets more complicated for Raducanu.

Emma Raducanu Nearly Bursts Into Tears, Recovers to Win in Seoul

The match was delayed due to the torrid weather conditions in Seoul, meaning that players had to wait for the rain to stop before entering the court. At 3-3 in the opening set, Raducanu netted a relatively straightforward forehand and was down two break points. The Toronto-born starlet appeared to be struggling physically and mentally, and was evidently on the verge of breaking down. However, she managed to wipe off her tears and regain focus – eventually winning the next three games and grabbing the opener 6-3.

🥺 Emma Raducanu was visibly struggling in the opening set…

But battled back to beat Jaqueline Cristian 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Korea Open 💪👏 pic.twitter.com/Lcjv30vsb7
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) September 17, 2025

In the second set, Raducanu had to fight back from a break down on two separate occasions. After leveling proceedings at 4-4, she broke her 27-year-old opponent and saved a break point en route to serving out the match. In the end, Raducanu’s determination earned her a vital straight sets win in just over two hours.

It's going to be a battle of two Grand Slam champs 🤺

Stream Raducanu vs. Krejcikova on our App 📲 #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/fJ1ujezzBw
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) September 17, 2025

“I’m super happy to have won,” said a relieved Raducanu after entering the R16. She opted to play the Korea Open over the Billie Jean King Cup in order to revive a season wherein she has gone trophy-less thus far. “It hasn’t been easy. I feel like I’ve played this match [for] the last three days. To have pulled through after waiting, I’m super pleased at how I came through.”

(Image Credits: Mike Frey, Imagn Images)

Barbora Krejcikova

Emma Raducanu

Iga Swiatek

Jaqueline Cristian

Korea Open

Tennis

US Open

WTA

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.