A gruelling round of preparation for the first clay-court appearance of her budding career left British tennis sensation Emma Raducanu with "no toenails left."
The 2021 U.S. Open champion beat Tereza Martincova 7-5, 7-5 in her first competitive clay match on Friday. That result balanced the scale in Britain's Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic after Harriet Dart fell to a 6-1, 6-0 hammering against Marketa Vondrouaova earlier in the day.
Raducanu's win was all the more impressive considering her condition, having endured a difficult start to 2022 following a hip injury and having to cope with severe blisters. The teenager has been placed under immense pressure to perform following last year's historic triumph at Flushing Meadows, where she became the first British woman to clinch a major since Virginia Wade won at Wimbledon 1977.
