Emma Raducanu marked her grass-court season debut with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over Cristina Bucsa at the inaugural women’s WTA 500 event at Queen’s Club.
The British number two, appearing relaxed and engaging with the home crowd, needed just over an hour to secure her spot in the last 16.
Raducanu expressed the “incredibly special” feeling of playing at the historic venue, especially as a woman.
Her confident performance, following a challenging year, suggests a positive start to her grass-court campaign, with a potential clash against Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the next round.
Fellow Britons Katie Boulter and Heather Watson also advanced.
Boulter fought through a tough 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 6-4 battle against Ajla Tomljanovic, while Watson defeated Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-3.
Their successes, along with Sonay Kartal’s win on day one, mean four British women are still in contention to become the first British champion at Queen’s since 1969.
Wildcard Francesca Jones was the only British loss on day two, falling to American McCartney Kessler. The strong British presence has kicked off the historic women’s tournament with excitement.
