Emma Raducanu’s smile is back. So is her game. The young Brit broke her three-year U.S. Open drought, winning her first match in Flushing Meadows since the breakthrough 2021 title that changed her life.

Raducanu began her US Open campaign with an impressive 6-1 6-2 victory over Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara. Before the victory, the British number one had now won a match at Flushing Meadows since her memorable US Open triumph in 2021.

Four years ago, Emma Raducanu shocked the tennis world when she won the U.S. Open as an 18-year-old qualifier. But nearly as staggering had been Raducanu’s lack of success at Flushing Meadows since then.