
BREAK BACK! *Emma Raducanu 2-1 Sayaka Ishii
Ishii has the chance to break back immediately as a couple of sloppy errors see Raducanu go 40-0 down.
A fabulous tight-angled shot at the net by the Japanese wildcard and it’s back on serve!
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 16:21
BREAK! Emma Raducanu 2-0 Sayaka Ishii*
Ishii shakes out her wrist and gives a rueful shake of the head as a ball flies wildly off her strings.
She puts a little too much power behind the ball to go 15-30 down, but has more success with a couple of sharp forehands.
Raducanu plays a great return, deftly dropping the ball over the net, and Ishii gets her next stroke all wrong, but saves an early break point chance with a cross-court forehand. She isn’t looking nervous out here but another wildly long forehand gives Raducanu a second look at break point, and another error hands over the break.
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 16:19
*Emma Raducanu 1-0 Sayaka Ishii
We get underway with a couple of short, sharp rallies, with Ishii winning the first point but Raducanu not looking too troubled on serve.
A great serve out wide follows, with Ishii forced too far out wide to make the next ball.
Ishii sends a second serve return long, and at 40-15 up Raducanu lands a smart first serve which her wildcard opponent can only fire wide. Raducanu is on the board.
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 16:13
Emma Raducanu vs Sayaka Ishii
The players are warming up as we get ready to start. Ishii won the toss and elected to receive.
Conditions look good so far: it’s bright and sunny and the wind shouldn’t be too much of a factor, unlike in Indian Wells.
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 16:10
‘I know how much he deserves it’ – Raducanu praises Draper for first ATP 1000 title
Speaking to Sky Sports earlier in the week, Raducanu suggested that the conditions in Miami should suit her better than in Indian Wells, where she exited in the first round.
“I struggled in Indian Wells, it was very windy the day I played, so I found it hard to hit clean,” she said.
“I’ve been practicing in the wind a bit more. I’ve just been here, adapting to the conditions. All of us have to deal with the same thing, I think certain periods of the year suit certain players better than others [because of the conditions]. It’s hard with the balls, especially for wrists and shoulders, but we can’t really do anything about it.”
She also had a word to say about Jack Draper, who just picked up the biggest title of his career so far in Indian Wells.
“I’m so happy for him, we grew up together and I know how much work he’s put in and how much he deserves it.”
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 16:08
Emma Raducanu vs Sayaka Ishii
The players are walking out into the Hard Rock Stadium.
It’s the first match of the day on the main stadium court, and there’s a big smile on the face of Emma Raducanu as she takes in a smattering of applause from a very sparse crowd. It should fill up as the match progresses.
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 16:05
Today’s match
Now ranked 60th in the world, Raducanu – who has never won a main-draw match in Miami – will take on Japanese wildcard Sayaka Ishii for a place in the second round.
The 19-year-old is ranked 188th and only made her main-draw debut on the WTA Tour last summer. She largely competes on the second-tier ITF circuit, with her best result at WTA level coming at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last October, where she reached the quarter-finals but retired.
Whoever wins today’s encounter will meet American eighth seed and world No 8 Emma Navarro in the second round.
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 15:45
Emma Raducanu moves on from Dubai incident but looks to improve ‘everything’ in her game
Emma Raducanu said she “did not feel anxious” on the court as she returned to action for the first time since dealing with a stalker at the Dubai Open last month.
The 22-year-old was beaten in straight sets by Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the first round of Indian Wells amid extra security in California.
The former US Open champion reported unwanted attention from a “fixated” man last month in Dubai, who then turned up on court during her match against Karolina Muchova.
Raducanu has looked to move on from the incident and said will look to improve “everything” about her game following a 6-3 6-2 defeat to Uchijima in blustery conditions.
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 15:30
More British success in Miami?
The Miami Open is the second half of the prestigious ‘Sunshine Double’, a pair of hard-court tournaments which are combined ATP Masters and WTA 1000 events.
Draper will be in action this week, eyeing the rare feat of winning the two tournaments back-to-back, while Brits Cam Norrie, Katie Boulter, and Emma Raducanu are all in the main draw. Jacob Fearnley and Billy Harris both made it through two rounds of qualifying to join them.
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 15:20
How to watch
Raducanu v Ishii is the first match on today’s schedule for the Hard Rock Stadium court, with play starting around 4pm UK time.
The tournament is being shown live on Sky Sports Tennis. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
Flo Clifford19 March 2025 15:10