Emma Raducanu can trump Katie Boulter as the British No.1 after progressing to the Italian Open second round.
If Raducanu goes deep into the competition, it would end a two year wait after losing the top spot to Boulter in June 2023.
In the French Open Raducanu will aim to go further than the round 32 she managed at the Australian OpenGettyThe former US Open winner currently stands at 49th in the world rankings on 1,139 points.
Boulter, meanwhile, is 40th in the world on 1,391 points.
With 390 points available to semi-finalists in Rome, that would see Raducanu reclaim her place at the top of British tennis after a two-year wait.
But Raducanu is not without competition for the top spot as fellow Brit Sonay Kartal remains on the clay.
She sits seven spots behind Raducanu as the world No.56 and faces Linda Noskova on Friday.
Raducanu was in the world’s top ten as recently as 2022, helped by the 2000 points received by players for winning a Grand Slam.
The 22-year-old fought hard to beat Maya Joint 7-5 6-7 (1) 6-3 in the first round of the Italian Open on Wednesday, while Boulter faltered to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-3.
Raducanu came close to concluding the match in straight sets but Joint remained strong and won the tie-break 7-1.
The third set seemed to be much better for Raducanu, who moved 5-0 ahead, but things got nervy when her opponent won three straight games.
Speaking on court afterwards, Raducanu told Sky Sports: “I think the level was really high today. Maya played so aggressively and any time I dropped the ball just a tiny bit short, she was just all over it, so I’m really proud of how I came through.
Raducanu has won eight and lost the same amount of matches this yearGetty“It was really difficult to play and then to close the match out was extremely hard.
“But the crowd and the support was amazing given it is almost 11 o’clock at night. I really felt it trying to cheer me on past the finish line.”
Raducanu will face world No.20 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round – an opponent the Brit lost to in straight sets at the February Qatar Open.
It has been a difficult year so far for the 22-year-old, whose previous partnership with Nick Cavaday ended because of the coach’s ill health.
She was then left in tears in a terrifying experience in Dubai when she spotted the presence of a ‘fixated’ man.
The 22-year-old will be eyeing an impressive French Open campaign as Raducanu has not progressed past a round of 16 since her US Open win in 2021.
Raducanu recently admitted she is yet to figure out how to truly thrive on clay.
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