MIAMI -- Emma Raducanu will forever be associated with the 2021 US Open, where she crashed through all kinds of barriers and became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title. As a teenager.
But that was a distant three and one-half years ago and -- after a disarming series of injuries -- the 22-year-old is keen to create some new history. This 2025 Miami Open seems like a terrific place to start.
Miami: Draws | Scores | Order of play
On Monday, the hope of Great Britain continued her surprising run through the draw, defeating No. 17 seed Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the first WTA 1000 quarterfinal of her career.
“The biggest thing I’m proud of is just finding the competitive spirit and being there for every ball and drawing that out of myself,” Raducanu told reporters afterward. “I think that’s kind of been missing in the last few months and even a few years at times.
"Just feeling a lot of hunger, feeling on the court competitive, wanting to run down every ball, and that’s the biggest win I would say from this week.”
Part of the secret has been shortening warmups and adding soccer, frisbee and tossing a football to the routine.
“I’m walking on to the court knowing that I’m going to be there for every point, every ball,” Raducanu said. “So far that’s really worked. Also, I think on the match court now I’m just thinking less, which is probably a good thing, and trying to just let my creativity come out because I think that’s when I’m playing my best tennis.”
In her past two matches, which includes a second-set retirement by McCartney Kessler, Raducanu has won a searing 24 of 29 games.
In Monday's Round of 16 match, Raducanu was far more efficient than her opponent, stroking an equal number of winners and unforced errors (eight of each). Anisimova's numbers were 12 winners, and 37 unforced errors. The match lasted only 69 minutes.
If you’re looking for some context, consider this: Raducanu has now won four consecutive WTA Tour main-draw matches for only the second time in her career. The first? That blazing US Open performance when she won seven straight (10 straight if you include qualifying).
Anisimova, meanwhile, is in the midst of her own renaissance. The 23-year-old American finished 2024 ranked at No. 36, but a title at the Doha WTA 1000 event changed her trajectory. She had fashioned a record of 11-4 this year and reached a career-high ranking of No. 17.
So, with stirring wins over Anisimova and No. 8 seed Emma Navarro, Raducanu has defeated two Top 20 players at the same event for the second time in her career -- yes, the first time was in New York, when she took out Belinda Bencic and Maria Sakkari en route to her US Open crown.
Pegula next up: Raducanu's quarterfinal opponent will be No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula, who topped No. 23 seed Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-3 later on Monday.
American Pegula has been a Miami Open stalwart of late. She has reached the quarterfinals or better at this event in each of the last four years, including semifinal showings in 2022 and 2023.
It was another swift Miami victory for Pegula on Monday. After taking the opening frame, Pegula fell behind 3-0 in the second set, but she won the next six games to notch a 1-hour and 23-minute win.
Pegula and Raducanu have split their two previous meetings - each with a win in their home country. Pegula won in straight sets on the hard courts of Cincinnati in 2022, but Raducanu posted an upset win on grass at Eastbourne last year.
