Emma Raducanu felt the crowd, and Simona Halep, watching every return in Cluj-Napoca.
The Briton arrived in Romania as top seed after a split with coach Francisco Roig and an Australian Open exit, and she admitted the presence of a legend in the stands stirred nerves despite a comfortable first-round win.
Halep In The Stands Adds Extra Pressure
Raducanu opened her Transylvania Open run by easing past Greet Minnen, producing a tidy scoreline of 6-0, 6-4 that drew applause and attention from the home crowd, not least because former world number one Simona Halep was in attendance.
Halep is serving as the honorary ambassador at the tournament after stepping away from professional tennis, and her presence clearly mattered to Raducanu given the Romanian applause and the extra scrutiny that comes with hometown support.
“It’s amazing how much has happened in five years, I can’t believe it’s been that long,”
Emma Raducanu
Coaching Changes And A One-Word Reaction
Raducanu confirmed she had parted company with Francisco Roig after the Australian Open, continuing a run of coaching changes that has tested patience and continuity in her camp, and former champion Boris Becker summed up one common reaction with a single online question, “Why?”
The split followed a second-round exit in Melbourne and another period of adjustment for Raducanu, who has been searching for both form and the right long term coaching fit while trying to keep expectations realistic.
The Transylvania Open win also nudged Raducanu up the live leaderboard, moving her to 28th in the Live WTA Rankings, a slight climb from her pre-Australian Open position of 29th and a small bit of momentum to build on.
Next up is Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan, who sits at world number 97, and while that looks favourable on paper Raducanu’s section includes heavyweight names capable of testing her, such as Olga Danilovic and the in-form Xinyu Wang.
The Bigger Picture: Titles, Records And Reality
Raducanu’s 2021 US Open triumph remains the defining moment of her career, the astonishing run that made her the only qualifier to win a major, and yet she has not added another trophy since that breakthrough at the Grand Slam in 2021.
Her career has been interrupted by injuries and coaching turnover, but the numbers that accompany the story are clear: she once climbed as high as world number 10, and her official record lists 148 wins, 86 losses with career prize money at $6,070,403.
On the big stage she has room for improvement, with a 4-17 record against current top-10 players and only favourable head-to-heads versus Amanda Anisimova and Belinda Bencic, details that explain why consistency remains her biggest challenge.
For now the focus is pragmatic: beat Juvan, build confidence, and see how far the draw allows her to go, because a run in Cluj-Napoca would deliver more than a ranking tweak, it would buy Raducanu breathing space to find stability.
She admitted openly that seeing Halep at courtside made her try not to think about nerves, which is perhaps the most honest snapshot of a young player still balancing history, expectation and the daily grind of tour life with a smile and a controlled forehand.
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Christoph Friedrich is a German tennis player and coach currently residing in Oakland, California. He began his tennis journey at the age of eight and has since dedicated his life to the sport. After working as a tennis coach and hitting partner in New York City for eight years, Christoph decided to share his knowledge and experience with tennis players around the world by creating the My Tennis Expert blog. His goal is to make tennis education accessible to everyone and help players select the best equipment for their game, from racquets and strings to shoes and overgrips. Christoph's extensive research and expertise in tennis technology make him a valuable resource for players of all levels.
