Raducanu reaches semi-finals at Washington Open

Emma Raducanu is through to the semi-finals of the Washington Open for the first time
- Published
Britain's Emma Raducanu recovered from 5-2 down in the second set to beat Maria Sakkari in straight sets at the Washington Open and reach her first semi-final of 2025.
The 22-year-old, who upset seventh seed Marta Kostyuk in the first round and overcame four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka on Thursday, beat her Greek opponent 6-4 7-5.
Raducanu will face Russian Anna Kalinskaya in the last four on Saturday as she bids to reach her first WTA final since winning the US Open in 2021.
If she beats Kalinskaya she could face Leylah Fernandez, who she beat in the US Open final, with the Canadian playing third seed Elena Rybakina in the other semi-final.
Raducanu told Sky Sports: "I've been doing a lot of good work. Little by little as you get results, you build confidence.
"But the amount of work I'm doing behind the scenes, to have that banked, you know you've done it. It takes a little bit of pressure off the results."
But Raducanu and playing partner Rybakina are out of the doubles after they retired from their semi-final while trailing 4-1 in the first set to second seeds Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai.

Emma Raducanu will replace Katie Boulter as British number one when the rankings are updated on Monday
Raducanu overcomes 'brutal' heat
In hot conditions in Washington DC, both Raducanu and Sakkari struggled to hold their serves in the opening set, with the Briton converting three of her six break points and her opponent two from four.
However, at 4-4, Raducanu struck the decisive blow, breaking Sakkari's serve for the third time before converting a second set point.
The 29-year-old Sakkari, runner-up at the tournament in 2023, had an opportunity to take the match into a decider after breaking serve in the sixth game of the second set and saving two break points for a 5-2 lead.
However, Raducanu roared back to win five consecutive games, including converting two of her five break points, to take the second set 7-5.
She received attention from a physio during the second set and later said she felt a "bit wobbly" due to the heat.
"It was brutal today," added Raducanu. "It was a long match, the first set was over an hour. You just have to enjoy suffering and leave it all out there on the court.
"Maria played an incredible match and the conditions really suit her with the liveliness of her game.
"I need to prepare [for the doubles] and get out of the heat. I felt a bit wobbly at the back end of the second set."
In the men's doubles, Britain's Neal Skupski and Australian partner John-Patrick Smith reached the semi-finals after coming back from a set down to upset fourth seeds Michael Venus and Yuki Bhambri 3-6 6-4 10-7.
Elsewhere, British number four Fran Jones will enter the top 100 in the WTA rankings on Monday for the first time in her career after reaching the semi-finals in Palermo.
The 24-year-old beat Hungary's Panna Udvardy 6-2 6-3 to set up a meeting with Tatiana Prozorova in the last four.
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- Published31 January