In the curious career of Emma Raducanu, another year of Grand Slam tennis is over and, amid the caverns of Arthur Ashe stadium on Tuesday night, it all ended in tears.
Speaking to the press in a pokey interview room, Raducanu was metres from the court where she won the title in 2021 but that night feels awfully far away. It was, she admitted, ‘back to the drawing board’.
A first-round defeat to Sofia Kenin means Raducanu is yet to win a match here in New York since she lifted the trophy and that fact clearly hurts like a knife in the ribs. ‘I feel down. I feel… I feel sad,’ she said, bowing her head beneath a cap as the tears arrived. ‘Obviously this is a tournament I really want to do well in.’
As well as tears there was also an admission from Raducanu that she got her scheduling wrong this month and that felt significant for a young woman who is used to strenuously defending her decisions – most notably the controversial call to withdrawn from the mixed doubles with Andy Murray at Wimbledon.
Raducanu simply must play more competitive tennis and if she can accept that then this Kenin defeat could be transmuted from a low point to a turning point.
Emma Raducanu broke down in tears after her US Open first-round defeat to Sofia Kenin
Raducanu is yet to win a match in New York since her sensational, shock triumph in 2021
The 21-year-old started slow against Kenin and ran out of steam at the end – exactly as one might expect from a player whose last match was on August 2.
‘I would have preferred to play a little bit more before coming into the US Open,’ said Raducanu. ‘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.’
Tim Henman has been a huge supporter of Raducanu – he was at the 4.45am party in a New York hotel celebrating her US Open title – but even he cautiously acknowledged mistakes had been made.
‘This has all been a rebuilding process when she’s coming back from the surgeries (ankle and both wrists last year). When she has played she has played very well,’ said Henman on Sky Sports.
‘That was a big chunk of the summer to miss. They were big tournaments and she wasn’t a direct acceptance (into the main draw) but in hindsight she probably should have been in qualifying to get those match reps under her belt.
‘She’s learning all the time and fingers crossed she’s going to have many more opportunities here at the US Open in the future. I still think her game is moving in the right direction.’
Raducanu was asked whether the decision to return to London after Washington was a personal or a team decision. She replied: ‘I would say it wasn’t me. It was more of like a collective call and that’s what happened. You can’t really change it.’
When Raducanu got the call from Murray to play doubles at Wimbledon her team – wisely – were hesitant but she overruled them; and here it sounds as though she would have preferred to play more in North America but the groupthink said otherwise. Perhaps the decision-making process needs some fine tuning – it is vital the player herself has the final call.
This low point will become a turning point if she can admit she simply must play more
As she says, Raducanu cannot change this abortive hard court swing but she can learn from it. From the start of the grass court season through to Washington, she played her best tennis since winning here three years ago.
Semis in Nottingham, quarters at Eastbourne, fourth round of Wimbledon and quarters in Washington – for the first time in her career Raducanu won at least two matches at four successive Tour events.
Now was the time to push on, ride that wave into Cincinnati qualifying, or Cleveland – not to retreat across the Atlantic.
Raducanu’s final words before leaving New York were not especially encouraging.
‘I’m going to play in Seoul, that’s my next event,’ she said. ‘Until then, I’m just gonna go back to the drawing board and train, analyse where I went wrong and try to 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.’
Seoul begins on September 16 so that will another 19-day gap between competitive matches. Is it really time to ‘go back to the drawing board’ or to get back on the horse?
Raducanu is already looking ahead to January’s Australian Open but there are an awful lot of ranking points to play for in 2024 – crack the top 50 and scheduling suddenly becomes an awful lot simpler with direct entry into all the big events.
Raducanu admitted she and her team had made a mistake over her limited scheduling
Her game is developing and she has a coach she trusts – now, she must get out on court more
To finish on a positive note, and goodness knows there is still plenty of promise in the career of this 21-year-old, Raducanu has won 60 per cent of her matches this year – just three per cent lower than world No 10 Jelena Ostapenko.
Her game is developing well and, in Nick Cavaday, she appears to have finally found a coach she trusts. Raducanu has been impressive whenever she has appeared on court – now it is time to get out on court a little more often.
