Emma Raducanu’s smile is back. So is her game. The young Brit broke her three-year U.S. Open drought, winning her first match in Flushing Meadows since the breakthrough 2021 title that changed her life.

Four years ago, Emma Raducanu shocked the tennis world when she won the U.S. Open as an 18-year-old qualifier. But nearly as staggering had been Raducanu’s lack of success at Flushing Meadows since then.

NEW YORK — Emma Raducanu finally ended her winless rut at the U.S. Open, earning her first victory at the Grand Slam tournament since taking the 2021 title there as an 18-year-old qualifier, eliminating Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2 in just 62 minutes on Sunday.