Wimbledon star Emma Raducanu has joined six other British players in reaching the second round of qualifying for the US Open.

The 18-year-old needed a little over an hour to ease past Bibiane Schoofs of the Netherlands 6-1 6-2.

Raducanu has started her hard court season well, reaching the final of a Chicago Challenger event last week and the quarter-final of a US ITF event a fortnight ago.

Having made a name for herself at the All-England Club this year, where she reached the fourth round, the Brit is seemingly continuing to progress and proving that this Grand Slam success was by no means a one-time fluke.

The teenager needs to win another two matches to qualify for her second consecutive major and faces Georgia’s Mariam Bolkvadze today. The 23-year-old made it to the second round of the US Open in 2019 but is ranked 173rd in the world –– some 23 places below Raducanu.

Meanwhile, Raducanu’s compatriot Katie Boulter also breezed into the second round of qualifying, winning 6-2 6-2 against America’s Gabriella Price.

Boulter has never reached the main draw at Flushing Meadows before but did make the second round at Wimbledon this year –– taking the first set against world number two Aryna Sabalenka.

Raducanu and Boulter were not the only Brits to advance in qualifying this year. Francesca Jones battled back from a set down against American Elizabeth Mandlik to win 3-6 6-0 6-3 as did Harriet Dart who came out on top against Peyton Stearns.

22-year-old Jodie Burrage, another who is seeking to qualify for her first US Open, convincingly beat top 10 junior Robin Montgomery 6-4 6-1.

Samantha Murray-Sharan, a veteran on the ITF circuit, rounded off the British success in the women’s singles draw, while Liam Broady also advanced in the men’s section.

These results suggest there is every reason to be optimistic about Britain’s chances in New York. Virginia Wade was the last British woman to win the US Open in 1968, while Andy Murray famously beat Novak Djokovic back in 2012.

Despite the success of this contingent in qualifying, Britain’s chances will no doubt rest heavily on Johanna Konta –– a former quarter-finalist back in 2019.

The 30-year-old has struggled with injuries all year and has dropped to 47th in the world rankings after losing in the first round at the Cincinnati Masters last week.

Nonetheless, Konta remains Britain’s highest-ranked female player and is accomplished on hard court surfaces. Assuming she is injury-free, she will be in the main draw of this year’s US Open, where she’ll hopefully be joined by a plethora of other British faces.