Emma Raducanu has reached her first final since she famously won the US Open in 2021 after coming through a challenging match against Ukrainian opponent Oleksandra Oliynykov with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the Transylvania Open.

World No 91 Oliynykov has a game style that is not often seen on the professional tour, with her tactics against Raducanu built around getting the ball back in court using what can only be described as ugly tactics.

Oliynykov was effectively lobbing the ball from the back of the court time and again for long periods of the match, as she asked Raducanu to make all the running.

The frustrating tactics had some impact on the No 1 seed at the Transylvania Open, as Raducanu threw in mistakes against an opponent who was capable of firing in the odd spectacular passing shots as she managed to stay in points with her defensive tactics.

Raducanu was frustrated as Oliynykov went for a toilet break at 6-5 in the first set and clarified that she would not be allowed to go for another at the end of the set.

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The frustration for the Brit continued into the third set, as she failed to convert on three match points at 5-2 and then faced another barrage of high balls from Oliynykov as she looked to finish off the match on her next service game.

It was a game of cat and mouse in a match dictated by the tactics of Oliynykov, who took to the court with temporary tattoos of bats stuck on her face to add to her unconventional look.

In the end, Raducanu found a way to overcome Oliynykov’s eccentric approach and recorded a victory that will give her a chance to win her first WTA Tour title on Saturday.

“What an incredible match,” said Raducanu. “All props to my opponent today, she played incredible. Makes it so trick to put any ball past her.

“You think it’s past her and she puts it on your baseline, so I’m just so proud of how I competed, how I came back in the third set and how I managed the match.”

This win has propelled Raducanu up to her highest WTA Ranking since she dropped out of the top 10 when he ranking points from the 2021 US Open win dropped off her record.

She is now up to No 25 in the live rankings and if she can win her first career title on the WTA Tour on Saturday, she will be eyeing up a return to the top 20 in the next few weeks.

Raducanu has limited points to defend between now and the Miami Open, where she reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event last year and she will have a boosted her ranking by the time she gets back to that event next month if she picks up wins in upcoming WTA 1000 events in Qatar and Dubai.

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