Emma Raducanu powers through Transylvania Open as Kartal falls short in Abu Dhabi

Emma Raducanu’s week in Cluj-Napoca has become the sharpest signal yet that her 2026 season can carry real momentum: she’s rolled into the Transylvania Open weekend with decisive wins and a semifinal date against Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova. At the same time, fellow Brit Sonay Kartal saw her own early-year surge checked in Abu Dhabi, while Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan—who pushed Raducanu early—leaves Romania with signs her level is climbing again.

The four names have converged in the same news cycle for a simple reason: form. Raducanu is stacking wins, Oliynykova is turning upsets into a run, Kartal is hovering near a rankings breakthrough, and Juvan is showing enough to suggest she’ll be a factor on hard courts this spring.

Emma Raducanu’s Transylvania run hits semifinal stage

Raducanu entered the Transylvania Open as the top seed and has played like it, stringing together three straight-set wins to reach the last four. The most telling moment came earlier in the week against Kaja Juvan: Raducanu trailed 0–5 in the first set, then flipped the match with a long stretch of aggressive first-strike tennis, taking it 7–5, 6–1. She followed that with a commanding quarterfinal win over Maja Chwalinska.

The on-court storyline is less about one flashy shot and more about the rhythm of her matches: cleaner service games, tighter error control when rallies extend, and a willingness to step in on second serves rather than waiting for a perfect ball. For Raducanu, this kind of week matters because it turns “good practice blocks” into match-proof confidence—especially as she tries to build consistency across tournaments rather than in isolated bursts.

Oleksandra Oliynykova turns a major upset into a real chance

Oliynykova has been the disruptor of the draw. Her run took off with an upset of a seeded opponent, then accelerated when she took out another seed—Xinyu Wang—to book her place in the semifinals opposite Raducanu.

What stands out is how quickly Oliynykova’s week moved from “nice surprise” to “dangerous matchup.” She’s shown the ability to absorb pace, redirect with depth, and stay composed in the key games that decide tight sets. Against a top seed, that composure becomes the entire point: if she can keep Raducanu from owning the center of the court and force her to hit an extra ball, the pressure shifts.

For Raducanu, the test is tactical discipline—sticking to patterns that create short balls without overpressing and gifting free points.

Kaja Juvan pushes early, then fades as the match turns

Juvan’s loss to Raducanu will be remembered for the opening set swing. Getting to 5–0 is not luck; it’s execution. The next hour, though, showed the fine line between controlling a match and letting the opponent reset.

Once Raducanu found a higher first-serve percentage and began stepping into returns, Juvan’s margins shrank. Her forehand started landing shorter, and Raducanu took time away. Even so, Juvan’s first-set dominance is the kind of reference point that can matter later in the season—proof that her ceiling is high enough to put top-30 players under real stress when her timing is on.

Sonay Kartal’s Abu Dhabi momentum stalls, but the trend is still up

Kartal didn’t make the semifinal jump this week in Abu Dhabi, losing a tight match that slipped away late. The details matter less than the shape of her season: she’s now good enough that “nearly” feels like a missed opportunity rather than a bonus.

Kartal’s game travels well because she competes hard in longer rallies and is comfortable changing direction off both wings. The next step is converting pressure moments—particularly on return games—into breaks. Players hovering near the top 60 often live in that gap: they can hang with anyone, but they need a few extra decisive points per match to turn solid weeks into deep runs.

Key segments to watch next

• Raducanu’s first four games vs. Oliynykova: a fast start reduces the chance of another early scramble.

• Oliynykova’s return depth: if she pins the ball deep, she can keep Raducanu from stepping inside the baseline.

• Juvan’s next hard-court event: whether she can carry that early-match sharpness across multiple rounds.

• Kartal’s next quarterfinal opportunity: the conversion rate on break points is the cleanest indicator of her next leap.

As of Friday, February 6, 2026 (ET), the most immediate spotlight is on the Transylvania Open semifinal picture—Raducanu and Oliynykova now playing for a place in the final, with both bringing a different kind of confidence into the weekend.

Sources consulted: Reuters, WTA, The Times, The Independent