Emma Raducanu fully focused during a match
Emma Raducanu finds herself at No 35 in the WTA Live Rankings following her exit from the Cincinnati Open, but she could still be seeded at the US Open.
Following her recent good form that saw her reach the semi-final of the Citi DC Open and fourth round of the Canadian Open, Raducanu had surged into the top 35 of the WTA Rankings and, coupled with some withdrawals from the Cincinnati main draw, she found herself seeded 30th for the WTA 1000 event.
But it didn’t count much in her favour as she found herself facing top seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the third round and, although she produced an excellent display and took a set off the three-time Grand Slam winner, she lost in three sets against the world No 1.
Raducanu started the tournament at No 39, but received a four-place boost for reaching the round of 32.
With the Cincinnati Open the final event before the cut off for the seedings for the US Open, the British No 1’s hopes suffered a big blow as only the top 32 players in the world are seeded at Grand Slams.
However, it was not a fatal blow as there had already been a couple of withdrawals from players who were set to be seeded, and more could follow before the draw is made on Thursday August 21 in New York.
World No 7 Zheng Qinwen and No 12 Paula Badosa have already confirmed they won’t take part in the season-ending Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows and that has resulted in the players at No 33 and No 34 in the Live Rankings being bumped into the top 32.
