Emma Raducanu reveals why Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have driven her to improve

Emma Raducanu has divulged that playing Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka this year has motivated her to improve her serve.

The 2021 US Open winner was pleased with her serving performance in her second round win at the Nottingham Open and highlighted this area of her game as “very important.”

On Thursday, Raducanu earned an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory against Daria Snigur, who had upset second seed Marta Kostyuk in the opening round in Nottingham.

The 21-year-old hit 11 aces, landed 68% of her first serves and won 72% of the points behind her first delivery against the world No 127.

The current world No 209 will face her British compatriot Francesca Jones in the quarter-finals at the WTA 250 grass-court tournament today. It is the first time Raducanu has reached the last eight of a tournament on grass.

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Raducanu lost 3-6, 5-7 to two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka in the third round at the Indian Wells Open in March in her first meeting with the Belarusian.

The Brit then faced world No 1 Swiatek in the quarter-finals in Stuttgart in April and produced an encouraging display in a 6-7(2), 3-6 defeat.

Following her win against Snigur, Raducanu expressed her approval at her display as she explained what she learned from facing Swiatek and Sabalenka.

“I’m very happy to have come through that match,” said the former world No 10.

“It was a really tricky one in the conditions and I’m just very happy with how I dealt with all the circumstances. Daria’s a really difficult opponent so it is actually a really good achievement for me to have come through that one.

“I’m pleased for sure serving it out the first time. I served really well throughout the whole match and it did make the match a bit easier. If I had just a second serve, it would have just been a nightmare to play her.

“I’ve been working on every part of my game but obviously the serve is very important. It’s just repetition and I’m pleased to see the rewards in competition.

“Especially what I’ve realised, playing the top opponents like Iga or Aryna, you need a first serve because they’re very comfortable holding serve. If you don’t have one yourself then it’s very difficult.”

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