Chris Evert gives her verdict on Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu's thrilling Cincinnati Open battle

Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu recently faced off against each other at the Cincinnati Open. The duo engaged in a fabulous battle and their match drew appreciation from tennis great Chris Evert.

Prior to their match in Cincinnati, Sabalenka and Raducanu had played each other twice on the WTA Tour. While the Belarusian had won both these encounters, Raducanu had made her work for the win.

On Monday, August 11, Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu delivered yet another intriguing fight. The Brit pushed the World No.1 all the way, before Sabalenka emerged victorious from a tiebreak, clinching victory 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5). Reacting to this match, Chris Evert wrote on X,

“Boy! This @EmmaRaducanu @SabalenkaA match!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏.”

Chris Evert

@ChrissieEvert

“Boy! This @EmmaRaducanu @SabalenkaA match!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏.”

Evert herself is considered to be one of the best tennis players of all-time. The American’s time on the tennis courts in the 1970s and 1980s saw her win 18 Grand Slam titles. She was also ranked No.1 in the world for a total of 260 weeks.

Aryna Sabalenka highlights mental battle in playing against Emma Raducanu

Sabalenka and Raducanu at the Cincinnati Open 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

The battle between Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu was an intense affair. The entire match was visibly demanding, and at one point in the third set, the duo played a 24-minute long game in the gruelling heat.

After the match, Sabalenka explained that her focus throughout the game was on staying positive, telling Tennis Channel,

“I was like, ‘keep pushing, keep pushing’. And after I lost that game, you know, before when I wasn't that experienced, I would go crazy because I would be still thinking about those opportunities that I didn't use in that game. and I would easily lose my serve. And this time I was like, 'Okay, it's in the past. Whatever. Move on'."

She went on to add that she was happy with her mental performance on the day, saying,

“I was focusing on my serve and hoping that in the next one I'll be able to break because I was getting really close to the break. So I think mentally I improved a lot and yeah, the main thing that I've been telling myself is to keep pushing, keep pushing, keep trying. Even if it was, it felt like okay, impossible I'm going to throw out, but I was like keep trying.”

Up next, Aryna Sabalenka will return to action at the Cincinnati Open for her round of 16 match. She will be playing Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.