Preview: Maya Joint vs. Emma Raducanu - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

An already-emotional Eastbourne International continues for British number one Emma Raducanu on Wednesday, as the 22-year-old faces Australian giant killer Maya Joint in the second round.

Raducanu let the tears flow after fighting back from a set down to defeat Ann Li first up, whereas her teenage foe stunned former Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur in round one.

Match preview

Doing things the easy way is not always an option for Raducanu, who travelled to the South Coast on the back of a praiseworthy run to the Queen's quarter-finals, where perpetual injury concerns reared their ugly heads again.

The former US Open champion's Eastbourne run also seemed destined for a premature end when she fell a set and a break down to the USA's La - the 2017 Wimbledon girls' singles' runner-up - but with the home crowd roaring her on, she put the clutch down and suddenly found a sixth gear.

Turning the tables and then some in a merciless third-set display, Raducanu succeeded 6-7[5] 6-3 6-1 in a two-hour and 18-minute marathon, one that lasted a couple moments longer than necessary as the Briton spurned three match points before making it fourth time lucky.

After putting Li to the sword, the British number one struggled to hold back the waterworks as she paid a meaningful tribute to the Eastbourne crowd, who witnessed Raducanu save seven of the 10 break points that Li fashioned.

Whether the 22-year-old's back is still plaguing her only her and her team truly know, but she was ostensibly letting tears of joy and relief flow as opposed to tears of pain and anguish on Tuesday, as she improved to a 16-12 record for the year.

Bidding to emulate her upcoming foe as the latest 19-year-old to cause a seismic Grand Slam shock, 2006-born Joint has already laid down quite the grass-court marker as Wimbledon fast approaches, eliminating former world number two Jabeur at the opening hurdle.

Granted, the Tunisian is not the same player she was when she made back-to-back Wimbledon finals - thanks in no small part to a shoulder operation - but take nothing away from Joint's memorable 7-5 6-2 win over the world number 59 on Monday.

The rising star trailed 4-2 in the first set and 2-0 in the second, but her comeback qualities came to the fore throughout the one hour and 21-minute battle, where she brought up 13 opportunities to break a beleaguered Jabeur.

The Australian's momentum could hardly be greater ahead of a maiden Wimbledon main-draw appearance, as she is now on the brink of cracking the world's top 50 and recently won her maiden WTA Tour singles title at the Morocco Open.

If the embryonic star can upset the home hope, she could be on a collision course to face Lulu Sun in an Australia vs. New Zealand quarter-final; the latter faces Anna Blinkova for the chance to meet the winner of this scrap.

Tournament so far

Maya Joint:

First round: vs. Ons Jabeur 7-5 6-2

Emma Raducanu:

First round: vs. Ann Li 6-7[5] 6-3 6-1

Head To Head

Italian Open (2025) - First Round: Raducanu wins 7-5 6-7[1] 6-3

Wednesday's showdown will be the second meeting between Raducanu and Joint in a matter of months, as the pair collided for the first time at the top level at the Italian Open last month.

In one of the more memorable first-round scraps on the clay, the Briton clinched a 7-5 6-7[1] 6-3 win after two hours and 44 minutes, and there were maybe shades of that battle in her recent success over Li.

After two tight first sets against Joint, Raducanu came out all guns blazing in the third as she stormed into a 5-0 lead before finishing the job, and it was a near-identical story in the closing stages of Tuesday's first-round Eastbourne win.

We say: Raducanu to win in three sets

Following a gripping first meeting in Rome, expect a similarly close and unpredictable encounter between Raducanu and joint on Wednesday, where the Australian teenager will no doubt have the weapons to trouble the injury-plagued Brit.

However, if Raducanu can find her customary third-set surge and attack Joint's second serves with her trademark venom, she still has our vote to make it back-to-back quarter-finals on the grass.

Written by
Ben Knapton

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