Tennis stars Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina registered a thrilling doubles victory at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C. The pair, nicknamed “ER²,” dropped the first set 6-2 against Tereza Mihalíková and Olivia Nicholls.
However, the duo made a comeback in style, winning the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4). The third and final set lasted 20 games before Raducanu and Rybakina clinched the match point to win the set 11-9.
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Following their win in the Round of 16, both players shared their excitement on Instagram. Rybakina posted a photo from the match on her story, tagging Raducanu with the caption:
“Survivedd 😅👋🏼”
Emma Raducanu posted a mid-match high-five photo and called the partnership:
“ER squared!! 💙”
The tournament’s official Instagram account also posted highlights from their victory in their first fixture of women’s doubles. The post’s caption read:
“E² gets it done in a thriller 🤩 @emmaraducanu and @lenarybakina pull through against Nicholls/Mihalikova 2-6, 7-6, 11-9 in their DC doubles debut!”
In the comment sections of Mubadala Citi DC Open’s official posts, Emma Raducanu dropped a two-word reaction:
“Let’s go!!”
The duo’s upcoming matchup has not yet been decided, but their singles fixtures are lined up for Tuesday, July 22.
What’s next for Emma Raducanu & Elena Rybakina after doubles victory?
Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina will now focus on their singles draws at the WTA 500 event in Washington, which will run from July 21 to 27 at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center.
Raducanu is set to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in her first singles match in Washington on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Rybakina will face Canada’s Victoria Mboko in the first round.
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Following the doubles victory, former British No. 1 Tim Henman thinks his compatriot is in good form ahead of the crucial tournament in New York. Henman told Sky Sports about Emma Raducanu’s growth:
“She’s a much better player than she was in 2021 because she’s had four more years of experience and now she’s started to build more of a team around her.
“So I just hope she can continue in that vein because if she keeps doing the right things on the practice court, the results will come on the match because she’s that good a player. And I think it was great to see her on the biggest stage in our sport against the number one player in the world,” she added.
Following Washington, both stars will head to Montreal (Canadian Open, WTA 1000: July 28 – August 7) and then Cincinnati ahead of the US Open. This tournament serves as preparation for the 2025 US Open, which is set to take place in New York.