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A tearful Emma Raducanu was “sad” as she continued to wait for her first US Open win since her memorable triumph in 2021.
The 21-year-old surprised the world three years ago when she won the title at her third senior tournament, but things have not been easy for her since then.
After a first-round exit in 2022 and an injury-related absence last year, Sofia Kenin caused further discontent with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory on the Grandstand Court.
When asked how she felt after the loss, she paused, then fought back tears and said: “Yes, I am dejected, I am sad. This is a tournament where I really want to do well.”
She continued: “I’m just going to start all over again, train and analyze where I made mistakes and try to improve for the rest of the season.
“Of course, the Grand Slam tournaments are over for this year, but it won’t be long before Australia is back on the schedule.”
Having played only one tournament since Wimbledon and skipped the Olympics to focus on the US Open, questions remain about the future of her career.
She admitted that she may have made mistakes in her preparation.
“I probably would have preferred to play a little more before going to the US Open,” she said. “I know when I have a lot of matches, like any player, you feel really good, you feel like everything is automatic. I can learn from that. And, you know, plan my schedule a little bit differently.”
“It wasn’t just me. It was more of a collective call and that’s how it happened and I can’t really change it.”
It was a tough draw for Raducanu against the former Australian Open champion, who delivered some of her best performances.
Kenin particularly liked Raducanu’s serve and managed three breaks on his way to a dominant first set.
The Brit missed three break points of her own in the first set, but was able to launch an attack at the beginning of the second set by breaking Kenin’s serve.
The American recovered, but a crucial point at 2-2 and 15-15, when Raducanu hit a backhand winner down the line, changed the course of the second set.
It helped her break, Kenin lost his nerve and hit the ball on the board. Two brilliant winners gave Raducanu a second break and a change of style.
But in the fifth game of the deciding set, everything went wrong for the Briton: she suffered a break, and Kenin finished the match calmly.
