Emma Raducanu to face Serena Williams in final US Open warm-up
Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing
Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news
Thanks for signing up to the
Sport email
The soon-to-retire Serena Williams has emerged as Emma Raducanu’s next challenge as the Briton prepares to defend her US Open title.
The world number 10 has been drawn to face Williams in the first round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, which begins with qualifying this weekend and is likely to be the American’s final tournament before the US Open.
The 23-time grand-slam champion this week indicated she would retire after contesting Flushing Meadows, saying she was “evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me”.
“As I said in the article, I’m terrible at goodbyes. But, goodbye Toronto,” a tearful Williams told the National Bank Open crowd after losing in straight sets to Belinda Bencic in the second round.
Raducanu, 19, went home a round earlier in Toronto, with her 7-6 (0) 6-2 defeat to defending champion Camila Giorgi following a quarter-final loss to Liudmila Samsonova at Washington’s Citi Open.
Recommended
Monday’s match is the first meeting between Raducanu and Williams and comes 23 years since the latter won the US Open for the first time, also as a teenager.
The winner of the first-round encounter will next face either Victoria Azarenka or Kaia Kanepi.
Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism
By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists
{{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}
By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.
Already have an account? sign in
By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.
Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism
By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists
{{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}
By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.
Already have an account? sign in
By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.
Source: Read Full Article