Emma Raducanu: Briton makes winning return against Elise Mertens at Washington Open

Emma Raducanu shared that she was struggling with jetlag while playing her three-set match against Elise Mertens at the Mubadala City DC Open in Washington. She managed to pull off a 6-2 3-6 6-4 victory in the opening round despite this challenge.

The 21-year-old made her first appearance since losing in the last 16 of Wimbledon earlier this month. She won five games in a row to win the first set, but Mertens, the eighth seed from Belgium, played well to win the second set.

After traveling from the United Kingdom to the east coast of the United States, Raducanu faced a challenging five-hour time difference as the final set continued past 11pm.

The previous winner of the US Open demonstrated her strong mental toughness by winning the final set. She successfully saved five break points during one part of the match to defeat Mertens for the second time this month, after winning at Wimbledon.

"I was showing some strong performances in certain parts of the match, particularly in the initial set and at times in the final set," Raducanu remarked.

I struggled to concentrate in the second period. It's challenging to play so early in the morning. I arrived here on Thursday night, so I'm still feeling the effects of jet lag.

I kept repeating to myself, "I'm not going anywhere. This can't be happening. I refuse to lose this game."

Raducanu, who is currently recovering from surgery on her ankle and wrist, declined the chance to compete in the 2024 Olympics because she didn't want to transition back to playing on clay before the hard-court season.