Emma Raducanu shows exactly where her focus is after tearful US Open exit

Emma Raducanu showed her true character by revealing she is already looking ahead to what’s around the corner as well as the Australian Open after yet another early US Open exit. Raducanu broke down in tears after suffering her latest first round defeat at Flushing Meadows to American Sofia Kenin on Tuesday.

The tennis star from Bromley was trumped 6-1 3-6 6-4 in front of a sparse crowd on Grandstand. She is yet to win a match in New York since winning the Grand Slam in stunning fashion as a qualifier in 2021, when she did not drop a set in 10 matches. Raducanu’s struggles got the better of her as she had to wipe away tears when asked how she was feeling in her post-defeat press conference. But the 21-year-old showed a champion’s mindset by wanting to go again and improve quickly in time for the end of this season.

Raducanu, who aims to play in next month’s Korea Open which begins on September 16, voiced her ambition ahead of next year’s Australian Open, saying: “I’m just going to go back to the drawing board and train and analyse where I went wrong and try and improve for the rest of the season. Obviously the Slams are over for this year, but it’s not actually that long until Australia comes around again (in January).”

She’d initially said while sobbing: “I feel down, I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in. I was maybe a bit slow starting. Yeah, I would have preferred to probably play, a little bit more before coming into the US Open. “You know, I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good. You feel like everything’s automatic. So yeah, I think I can learn from it. And you know my manage my schedule slightly differently.”

Raducanu last month recorded her best Grand Slam result at Wimbledon since her US Open victory three years ago. She reached the fourth round at SW19 – but Flushing Meadows was just her second tournament since she decided not to enter qualifying in Toronto and Cincinnati. The decisive moment against 2020 Australian Open winner Kenin came in the fifth game of the final set when Raducanu fell 0-40 down. She gave away the second break point with a double fault. In the 41-minute first set, she also lost six consecutive games after saving a breakpoint in her 12-point first service game.

The Korea Open in Seoul is her next chance to bounce back from the disappointment. It’s less than three weeks away, and concludes on September 22.