Australian Open: Raducanu wins in straight sets on Grand Slam return

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Raducanu has won in the first round of the Australian Open on all three of her appearances at Melbourne Park

Emma Raducanu is through to the second round of the Australian Open after wining in straight-sets in Melbourne.

The 21-year-old tennis player beat American Shelby Rogers 6-3 6-2 on her return to Grand Slam action.

The former British number one has struggled with injuries and form since her 2021 US Open title victory and is currently ranked 296 in the world.

Making her first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament for 12 months, Raducanu walked off the court with a huge smile on her face as she waved to the crowd.

Watching the match and speaking on 大象传媒 radio 5 Live, former US tennis payer, Chanda Rubin said: "You can see the big smile on Emma Raducanu's face, the joy. Very deserved, she played a terrific match."

Image source, Getty Images

The 2021 US Open champion returned to action earlier this month at the ASB Classic tournament in Auckland, New Zealand.

Before that, injuries had meant Raducanu had missed nearly eight months of tennis and hadn't played since April, following three operations on both of her wrists and her ankle last year.

Raducanu will play China's Wang Yafan in the second round at the Australian Open on Thursday.

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Image caption, Raducanu could play British number one Katie Boulter in the third round

Katie Boulter, Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie also won first-round matches in Australia on Tuesday.

Raducanu and Boulter - who has taken over as Britain's highest-ranked woman - remain on course to meet each other in the third-round.

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