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Emma Raducanu will head to the Czech Republic to participate in the Ostrava Open. The WTA 500 tournament will be held from October 3-9. It will be her first time competing there.
The inaugural edition of the Ostrava Open was held in 2020 as the tournament was added to the WTA tour to make up for the canceled events that year due to the pandemic. Aryna Sabalenka went on to win it, defeating compatriot Victoria Azarenka in the final.
After the success of the debut edition, it found itself a place on the tennis calendar yet again in 2021, and this year as well. The 2022 edition will feature quite a few big names, led by World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. She's joined by top 10 players Paula Badosa, Maria Sakkari and Anett Kontaveit, who's the defending champion as well.
Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Elena Rybakina and Victoria Azarenka are also in the mix. Daria Kasatkina, Belinda Bencic and Beatriz Haddad Maia are some of the other top players participating this time around. With plenty of big names in action, it promises to be an exciting week in the Czech city.
Emma Raducanu reaches her first semifinal in over a year
Emma Raducanu had a fairytale run to her maiden Grand Slam title at last year's US Open. However, she has struggled to replicate that success since. Playing in her first full WTA season this year, she managed to win back-to-back matches on only a handful of occasions.
Her title defense at the US Open ended in the first round. She competed in the Slovenia Open after that, where she lost to a player ranked outside the top 200 in the second round. The Brit then headed to Seoul to compete in the Korea Open.
Raducanu was in good form throughout the week and managed to reach the semifinals without dropping a set, her first since the 2021 US Open. It was also her first time winning three matches in a row this year. The teenager was up against Jelena Ostapenko and started the match on a strong note. She won the opening set, but picked up an injury midway through the second set. She soldiered on for a little while, but ultimately retired in the third set to avoid aggravating her injury.
While the tournament ended on a sour note, there were plenty of positives as well and this could potentially mark the beginning of a turnaround for her.
