Having not played since her defeat to Jelena Ostapenko at the Stuttgart Open in April due to wrist and ankle injuries requiring surgery, Raducanu faced a tough challenge. Despite a few early double faults, she managed to secure a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory in a match that lasted two hours and 27 minutes.
Raducanu dominated in the first set, breaking Ruse's serve in the eighth game. However, the second set saw Ruse take a 3-0 lead before Raducanu fought back, ultimately bringing the score to 4-5. Raducanu, though, faced a setback when she was broken while serving to stay in the set, allowing Ruse to level the match.
In the deciding set, Raducanu initially took control, establishing a 5-2 lead. However, Ruse mounted a comeback, breaking Raducanu to 3-5 and saving two match points on serve to draw level. Despite the intense battle, Raducanu's exceptional baseline play secured a break in the 11th game, and she eventually sealed the victory on her fourth match point.
The win sets up a challenging second-round encounter for Raducanu against Ukrainian second seed Elina Svitolina. Svitolina had earlier defeated Danish wildcard Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3. Raducanu's successful comeback added to the positive results for British players in the Hong Kong Open.