Emma Raducanu’s painful US Open admission proved tennis champion right about her
Emma Raducanu was dumped out of the US Open in the first round after a three-set defeat by Sofia Kenin, with the Brit breaking down in tears in her post-match press conference
Emma Raducanu’s comments following her US Open defeat prove that former tennis champion Monica Puig was right about her all along. The Brit, 21, was dumped out at the first hurdle at Flushing Meadows via a three-set defeat to Sofia Kenin. The result leaves her without a win at the tournament since she lifted the trophy in 2021.
Earlier this month, 30-year-old Puig blasted Raducanu’s decision to skip a couple of warm-up events and fly home to London, suggesting it was a mistake to forgo match practice on hard courts.
“Practice is practice,” the 2016 Olympic gold medal winner told Tennis Channel. “But playing in a match situation is something that can’t be replicated in practice and can only be done while competing… [I’m] not really sure what the play was here.”
“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 manage my schedule slightly differently.”
Raducanu skipped the Olympics in Paris in order to focus on hard court surfaces ahead of the US Open, and the move initially seemed to pay off after she reached the Washington Open quarter-final. However, rather than building momentum, she returned to the UK.
When pressed for details on whether the choice to come back was hers or her team’s, Raducanu admitted: “I would say it wasn’t me. It was more of like a collective call and, yeah, that’s what happened. You can’t really change it.”
Visibly emotional, she continued: “I feel down… I feel, I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in.”
Since her stunning US Open victory in 2021, Raducanu has struggled for fitness and form. She’s failed to get beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the three years since, and has only managed to get beyond the second round on one occasion.
Injuries and coaching changes have been plaguing her, but there were signs of stability with a strong performance at Wimbledon last month and victories over top 10 players leading up to the event. Yet, her early exit at Flushing Meadows suggests she still has a long way to go before realising her potential.
