Fans got a pleasant surprise from the Citi Open entry list last week when the update of Nick Kyrgios and Gael Monfils playing doubles together made the headlines. Citi Open has in a matter of five days presented its viewers with yet another combination they would love to see to play together. This time it’s in the women’s draw as former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu join hands.
Rybakina and Raducanu join hands at Citi Open
Both former Grand Slam champions have had a tough time on the tour lately. They have not been able to consistently push for the latter stages of any event and have struggled with certain injuries too. However, in the recently concluded Wimbledon Championships both showed some promise and now would look to build on that and get back to the top of their game.
Rybakina doesn’t have loads of doubles experience, and her best run in a Major tournament was when she made the quarterfinals in the 2021 French Open. Her partner, Raducanu, has played only three doubles matches on the tour and lost two of those. It seems she is trying to reinvent the doubles player inside her in this North American hard court season.
Between the two, Raducanu has been the more successful player in the continent with her US Open title. Both players will look to get a good feel of the court by staying for more time on the court in both draws. Their first match is against 4th seed Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls. It will be a good challenge first up and both players will get a good look at their coordination on court. Fans will be interested to know if this is a short term stint or any sort of a long term plan between both the players.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
