What is shaping up to be a pivotal 2025 season commences on Sunday for Emma Raducanu, who begins her campaign in the first round of the ASB Classic against Robin Montgomery.
The former US Open champion enters her inaugural tournament of the year as the sixth seed and spearheads Great Britain's hopes in Auckland after shining at the Billie Jean King Cup.
Match preview
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Whisper it quietly, but the best of Raducanu has been coming out to play as the 2025 season approaches, as the former British number one dazzled and delighted the Malaga crowds during GB's barnstorming run to the final four of the BJK Cup.
Germany's Jule Niemeier, Canada's Rebecca Marino and Slovakia's Viktoria Hruncakova all fell to Raducanu's superiority in straight sets, although the latter's nation still proved too strong over the course of three matches as Anne Keothavong's crop bowed out at the semi-final stage.
Raducanu showed few ill effects from a recent foot injury during the international tournament, and the 22-year-old has arrived Down Under refreshed and raring to go for 2025, no doubt with one eye on the Australian Open in a couple of weeks' time.
A forgettable first-round US Open exit to Sofia Kenin succeeded a more pleasing run to the last 16 of Wimbledon, and Raducanu could even avenge that fourth-round loss to Lulu Sun over the next few days; the New Zealander might await her in the ASB quarter-finals.
However, Raducanu and her team - now reinforced by renowned fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, formerly of Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova's camps - will only pay attention to the task at hand against Montgomery first and foremost, as the 22-year-old seeks a sixth win from seven matches on hard courts.
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Twice before has the former US Open champion competed at Auckland, and twice before has she been eliminated in the second round, going down to Viktoria Kuzmova in 2023 prior to her battling defeat against Elina Svitolina in the 2024 edition.
Two years Raducanu's junior, USA protege Montgomery endeavours to follow in the footsteps of compatriot and fellow rising star Coco Gauff, the reigning ASB Classic champion who will not be defending her crown this time around owing to her participation in the United Cup.
Twenty-year-old Montgomery is yet to hit the Gauff heights, but 2024 was still a momentous year for the American starlet, who won a main-draw Grand Slam match for the first time at Wimbledon before falling at the hands of Ons Jabeur in round two.
However, it was at the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid where Montgomery made her biggest statements, upsetting British number one Katie Boulter in round two and taking a set off of Aryna Sabalenka before losing in three sets to the world number one.
Three of the American's final four matches in the 2024 campaign ended in defeat, though - most recently a first-round loss in November's Argentina Open, a WTA 125 tournament - although a clash with either Niemeier or a qualifier will be her prize if she can repeat her Boulter trick against Raducanu.
Head To Head
Sunday's first-round match will pit Raducanu and Montgomery against each other for the first time at the top level, and the Briton sits 60 places higher in the WTA rankings, coming in at world number 57 to Montgomery's 117.
However, the American has the slight physical advantage - standing at 5ft 10in tall, three inches more than Raducanu - and her left-handed game will also pose a different challenge to the 22-year-old's right-handed style.
We say: Raducanu to win in two sets
Montgomery has proven to be no pushover against the likes of Boulter and Sabalenka, but her most notable results have come on clay and grass rather than hard courts, where Raducanu excelled towards the end of 2024.
Whether rustiness comes into play for either competitor only time will tell, but we have complete faith in a rejuvenated Raducanu to kick off her 2025 season on the right note and progress to round two without too much trouble.