A series of injuries over the past four years, combined with the mental load of such frenzied attention, means Raducanu is only now seeing the US Open as her “happy place”.
Since arriving in New York last weekend, Raducanu has cut a jovial figure – particularly during her outing alongside Carlos Alcaraz in the revamped mixed doubles event.
Feeling more relaxed and carefree off court is how she feels she can best fulfil her potential on it.
That was evident in the straightforward victory over 130th-ranked Shibahara, where she settled quickly as gusty winds whipped around Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Opening the match with a fizzing serve out wide was a strong statement of intent from Raducanu and it laid the platform for a dominant opening set which she wrapped up in 26 minutes.
While Raducanu was moving well and hitting minimal unforced errors, she was helped by a lack of quality from her opponent.
Shibahara, playing in only her second Grand Slam main draw, lost four of the seven break points she faced and hit 36 unforced errors as her baseline game broke down.
In contrast, Raducanu was barely troubled on her increasingly threatening serve and played cleanly from the back of the court.
Raducanu will face either Indonesian qualifier Janie Tjen or Russian 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova in the second round.
