Raducanu advances in Madrid; Alcaraz credits Wimbledon success to partying hard in Ibiza

Emma Raducanu's return to the WTA Tour began with a hard-fought win over Dutch opponent Suzan Lamens in the Madrid Open first round.

- Agencies

The British number two, playing competitively for the first time in almost a month, ground out a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory on the clay.

Raducanu trailed by a break in each set before instantly recovering and edged the bigger points to secure victory.

"I know I had to play really well to win and although it wasn't always my best, I got stuck in at the right moments," Raducanu said.

Raducanu took a “physical and mental” break from competitive action after reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals last month, instead opting for a 10-day training block in Los Angeles.

The world number 49 spent the time there working with Mark Petchey, who is coaching her on an informal basis and was watching as she beat Lamens in her first clay-court appearance of the season.

Raducanu, 22, will play Ukrainian 24th seed Marta Kostyuk in the second round.

Anastasija Sevastova's comeback from maternity leave has been a tough road. The former World No. II gave birth to daughter Alexandra in December 2022 and returned to the tour in November 2023 after a 22-month break.

Though she reached quarter-finals in her first four events, her progress was halted by an ACL injury in Austin, leading to another 14-month layoff.