In a match between two former Grand Slam champions, Emma Raducanu was defeated by Sofia Kenin in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday night in New York.
Since becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows three years ago, Raducanu has found it difficult to bring back the brilliance. And in front of a small crowd on Grandstand, American Kenin defeated Raducanu 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to send him packing.
While being questioned about her feelings during her press conference, an emotional Raducanu wiped away tears.
She expressed her thoughts and said: “I feel down; I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in so after the first set I was outplayed completely and I think I did well to equal it. The third set was pretty high-level tennis and I think certain parts of my game—dealing with her speed of the shot, dealing with her pace—were actually executed better than in previous matches. I came across a very in-form opponent, and she played really well.”
Raducanu, who has only participated in one tournament since Wimbledon and skipped the Olympics to concentrate on her US Open preparation, will be immensely disappointed to fail at the first leap, and doubts about the trajectory of her career still exist.
Emma Raducanu in 2024
At the moment ranked no.72, Emma played her last match on the 27th of August when she lost to world no.54 Sofia Kenin 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the 1st round of the U.S. Open (draw).
At the moment, during this season Emma has achieved a 18-12 win-loss record. Emma Raducanu’s best performance of the present season was getting to the semifinal in Nottingham.
Emma Raducanu will square off with the world no.58 Viktoriya Tomova in the final. Their head to head is 1-0 for Tomova.
Raducanu has scheduled to play next in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Tennis Open). She will start from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of October.