Emma Raducanu won her first match at the Nottingham Open against Japan’s Ena Shibahara, securing a straight-sets victory and safe passage to the next round.
The 21-year-old Brit made her grass-court return on home soil 713 days since her wrist injury, winning 6-1, 6-4.
“It’s amazing to be playing on home turf, it has been so long since I last really played in the UK,” Raducanu said.
“To come here and everyone is really behind me is really nice, I’m cherishing every moment of that.”
The win looked comfortable for Raducanu in the second set after she went up 5-1, but Shibahara fought her way back by taking three games in a row.
However, Raducanu’s quality eventually won out as a stunning return on match point ended the contest.
“I think I played a really good match. I’m very pleased with how I dealt with the circumstances today.” Raducanu said.
She will now face Ukraine’s Daria Snigur in the second round.
Earlier on Tuesday, Dan Evans won his opening match at the Nottingham Open against Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker. The deciding set was played after the match was suspended after two sets on Monday due to poor lighting.
Tuesday’s final set was interrupted when Stricker went down with an injury with the score tied 3-3 and was escorted off the court for a medical timeout. However, when he returned, he failed to regain his full physical capacity as Evans took the final three games to win the set.
Evans, who won the Nottingham Open in 2019 and 2022, won the match 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
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