Born in Toronto, thriving in Montreal: Surging Emma Raducanu makes herself at home

Emma Raducanu is settling in nicely on North American hard courts—and looking more like a contender with each match.

After reaching the semifinals last week in Washington, D.C., with impressive wins over No. 7 seed Marta Kostyuk, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka and Maria Sakkari, the British No. 1 has kept that momentum going in Montreal.

Read More: Emma Raducanu continues summer surge with high-quality DC Open win vs. Naomi Osaka

Raducanu—who was born in Toronto—opened her National Bank Open presented by Rogers campaign with a straight sets win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse. She followed that up on Wednesday with a clinical 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 32 seed Peyton Stearns.

“I know Peyton is a really tough opponent,” she said in her on-court interview. “We’ve played two times in the past and always had really long matches. I’m really happy with how I came through in that match.”

“I kind of lost my focus at some moments in the second set and she took advantage,” she added. “But I’m very happy that I came through against a top opponent and happy to extend my stay in Montreal.”

This run marks Raducanu’s best showing in Canada by far. Her only previous appearance came in 2022, when she lost in the first round in Toronto to Camila Giorgi.

Q. We can see the British flags (in the stands), is there anything you want to say to all of your supporters?

RADUCANU: I just want to say thank you! I mean, I see the Union Jack, so thank you. I saw that in some clutch moments.

And I was actually born in Canada, so to come back — (applause)

For me, it means so much to be able to do well here. I’m very happy to be in the next round.

With the win, Raducanu improved to 5-1 on the North American hard-court swing. Having started the year ranked outside the Top 60, she’s surged up the rankings thanks to her semifinal run in Miami and fourth-round showing on clay in Rome. She currently sits at No. 33 and is poised to rise even higher ahead of the US Open—where she famously won the title in 2021.

Raducanu credits her strong form to a shift in mindset:

“I'm really pleased with how I'm tracking, how I'm building,” she told Tennis.com’s David Kane in Washington, D.C.. “My goal, it's kind of gone away from result-oriented goals. I’m just enjoying each day and trying to bank as many good ones as possible in a row. And not let a bad day kind of creep in, or if there’s a bad morning session, like trying to regain it straightaway.”

Up next, she’ll face No. 5 seed Amanda Anisimova, who returned to action with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Lulu Sun in her first match since reaching the Wimbledon final.