"Survived", Elena Rybakina reacts after stunning debut alongside Emma Raducanu at Washington Open 2025

Elena Rybakina and Emma Raducanu edge past fourth seeds to reach Washington Open quarters.

The newly formed exciting new partnership of Elena Rybakina and Emma Raducanu has kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Gearing up for the hard-court swing, this Kazakh-British pairing produced a sensational upset in their opening round of the Washington Open 2025.

Taking on the fourth-ranked duo of Olivia Nicholls and Tereza Mihalíková, Rybakina and Raducanu found it tough against a far more experienced doubles duo. They lost the first set by 6-2. However, what followed was an incredible comeback by the two former singles Grand Slam champions.

A nail-biting second set saw the level rise significantly, with both singles players holding their nerve to edge it in a tense tiebreak.

The match came down to a 10-point deciding tiebreak, where Rybakina and Raducanu surged ahead to 9-5, holding four match points. But just when victory seemed within reach, a flurry of errors crept in, allowing their opponents to claw back and level the score at 9-9.

However, a fine passing shot by the Brit and a missed volley at net from their opponents handed Rybakina and Raducanu their first victory as a pair. This is new territory for both players, and they seemed to be relieved after what turned out to be an extremely close battle.

Rybakina summed up the match in one word, “Survived😅🫰🏼”. Raducanu seems to be loving her new partnership, calling it “ER squared!!🩵”.

The Kazakh had previously played doubles in Queens alongside Yulia Putintseva, possibly to get used to the grass conditions. She has now followed a similar template at the hard-courts of Washington and would be looking to achieve greater heights alongside Raducanu, who is slowly trying to find her best level once again at the WTA level.

Raducanu had an inspiring Wimbledon outing, as she defeated former winner Marketa Vondrousova and went down to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a hard-fought contest. Rybakina would be gutted with her season so far, mainly on grass where she is accustomed to success and is one of the best players on the surface currently.

Both will hope to improve their performance at the Masters 1000, leading to the crucial US Open. Rybakina-Raducanu will next face the winner of Giuliana Olmos/Aldila Sutjiadi and Miyu Kato/Fang-Hsien Wu for a spot in the semi-finals of Washington Open 2025 women’s doubles.

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