Emma Raducanu, Elena Rybakina made to work for opening doubles win in Washington

Raducanu has limited doubles experience an admitted she has limited knowledge was a concern when she teamed up with fellow Brit Katie Boulter in the WTA 500 event at the Queen's Club last month.

The Raducanu/Boulter pairing won a match in that tournament and now the intriguing pairing with Rybakina has produced an opening victory, as they beat the experienced doubles duo of Britain's Olivia Nicholls and Czechia's Tereza Mihalikova.

Raducanu and Rybakina were an eye-catching team entering the Washington draw and while they have no experience playing together, they found a way to win 2-6, 7-6(4), 11-9.

That scoreline only tells part of the story as Raducanu and Rybakina were 9-5 up in the decisive championship tie-break and were pulled back to 9-9 before pushing over the winning line.

The duo shared an embrace as the final point was won, with a big crowd watching the high-profile duo team up.

It was a positive sign that Raducanu entered the doubles in Washington, as it suggests the back problems that have hampered her since a defeat against Danielle Collins on clay in Strasbourg in May are not concerning her.

The doubles experience will also be welcome before her eagerly anticipated partnership with world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the revamped mixed doubles at the US Open next month.

Raducanu will play her first singles match in Washington on Tuesday, when she takes on Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk and former British No 1 Tim Henman believes the 22-year-old is in a good place as she looks to make an impression on hard courts leading up to the US Open.

After reaching the quarter-finals at the new WTA 500 tournament at the Queen's Club, Raducanu pushed world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round at Wimbledon and Henman believes she is now maturing into a player ready to compete at the top of the women's game.

"She's a much better player than she was in 2021 because she's had four more years of experience and now she's started to build more of a team around her," Henman told Sky Sports News.

"She's been competing so much more this year, which therefore emphasises the physical resilience that she's got because she was always getting injuries.

"So I just hope she can continue in that vein because if she keeps doing the right things on the practice court, the results will come on the match because she's that good a player. And I think it was great to see her on the biggest stage in our sport against the number one player in the world.

"She had a really good chance to win that match and I'm sure that will motivate her now moving onto the hardcourt swing in America to keep building."

Raducanu has a big chance to get close to a seeded position in the top 32 of the WTA Rankings ahead of the US Open if she can put some solid wins together in Washington and then at the WTA 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati. 

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