LONDON: Once labelled the new golden girl of tennis after winning the 2021 US Open as a teenaged qualifier, Emma Raducanu’s career has been a tale of injury layoffs, hiring and firing coaches and a struggle to live with the weight of expectation.

On Saturday against new American teenage sensation Iva Jovic, she offered renewed hope of a resurgence ahead of Wimbledon with a clinical 6-2, 6-2 victory to reach the Queen’s Club final.

The 23-year-old arrived at the London grasscourt event without a Tour-level win since March.

Now she has reeled off four in a row without dropping a set and will take that momentum into Sunday’s final against Croatia’s vastly-experienced Donna Vekic seeking a first title since her fairytale run in New York.

“It means everything to be doing it here at Queen’s, the support was electric, Raducanu said on court.

“I’ve been able to stick out some tough moments in the last few months. Any Brit would love to lift the title here.”

The 29-year-old Vekic will present a formidable barrier after showing her class in a 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Britain’s Katie Boulter in the day’s first semi-final.

Vekic dropped only six points on serve to silence a partisan crowd on Andy Murray Arena as wildcard Boulter could not reproduce the level she reached to stun world number two Elena Rybakina late on Friday.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2026