Emma Raducanu tearfully admitted she will look to ‘manage my schedule differently’ after she was beaten in the first round of the US Open by Sofia Kenin.
The 21-year-old is still waiting for her first victory at the US Open since winning the title three years ago.
Last night’s defeat was her first competitive match since August 2 and brings into sharper focus Raducanu’s decision not to not play any tournaments in the weeks leading up to the US Open.
‘I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more before coming into the US Open,’ admitted Raducanu after the defeat.
‘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.’
Emma Raducanu broke down in tears during her press conference in New York on Tuesday
The Brit was dumped out of the US Open in the first round, losing to American Sofia Kenin
Raducanu, 21, was on court for two hours and 11 minutes but lost the three-set match
Emma Raducanu walks off court after losing the opening set before losing in three sets in her first round match
Asked to clarify whether the decision to return home to London after Washington rather than play qualifying in Cincinnati was a personal or a team decision, Raducanu replied: ‘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.’
Becoming tearful as she tried to explain her state of mind after this defeat, Raducanu said: ‘I feel down… I feel, I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in.’
Her opponent Kenin, 25, won the Australian Open in 2020 but a variety of issues have seen her ranking outside the top 50.
Despite this, she was able to cause Raducanu problems throughout the contest.
Raducanu settled down in the second set and played with more patience. She carried on an almost constant dialogue with coach Nick Cavaday between points as they sought to find a way through the Kenin defences.
She had a break point to go 2-0 up in the third set but once Kenin got her nose in front she was comfortable.
Sofia Kenin moves on to face either Shelby Rogers or Jessica Pegula in the second round
Raducanu admitted she still hadn’t ‘come to terms’ with her 2021 win at the US Open
Raducanu has been battling a series of injuries throughout the year and hasn’t played much
Raducanu, who missed last year’s US Open, admitted she still hadn’t ‘come to terms’ with her 2021 win when her title defence ended in the first round. ‘I feel very proud when I come here,’ she added.
‘Walking past my photo every day, walking past my name on the trophy every day. I think that is such an epic achievement.’
Today’s defeat comes days after Raducanu described Andy Murray’s career as ‘old news’ and claimed the sport has already ‘moved on’ from his era of British tennis.
Raducanu controversially pulled out of the mixed doubles with Murray at Wimbledon, a decision that ended the Scot’s career at SW19 before his final bow at the Paris Olympics.
But, before the first major since 2005 without Murray at the helm of British tennis, Raducanu said: ‘It doesn’t feel different at all. Tennis is unforgiving in that sense. No matter who you are, it just moves on. There is always another match, there is always another tournament.
‘Of course Andy has achieved amazing things and I watched him win this tournament (in 2012) but it is a fast pace, just like life is. It’s old news the next day kind of thing.’
Murray’s mother Judy previously called Raducanu’s decision to pull out of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon – ending his career at the tournament in the process – as ‘astonishing’.
Emma Raducanu wearing a black and white lace Dior dress with her former boyfriend Carlo Agostinelli during Paris Fashion week in September. The pair are understood to have split
The British duo had been set to compete together but Raducanu (right) has pulled out due to wrist soreness
Judy took to social media after the British tennis star announced she was pulling out of the competition hours before they were due to appear on No1 Court citing ‘stiffness in her wrist’.
The British tennis legend was said to be ‘absolutely devastated’ by the development , after he had a tearful farewell on Centre Court the other night where he admitted it was becoming ‘too tough’ for him to continue playing.
He had hoped for some form of redemption by taking part in the mixed doubles with Raducanu – who previously said it was a ‘dream’ to partner up with him – before the shock announcement, which has divided people on social media.
In a statement Raducanu said: ‘Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight.
‘I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but got to take care.’
After the decision was made public sports presenter Marcus Buckland wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: ‘Astonishing news that Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from her mixed doubles match with Andy Murray. She’s citing soreness in her right wrist.
‘It means Murray has played his last match at Wimbledon. Oh dear!’
Raducanu made headlines worldwide when she won the US Open in 2021. She spent much of last year recovering from double wrist and ankle surgery
This sparked a response from Andy Murray’s mother, Judy, who wrote: ‘Yes, astonishing.’
It has been a difficult few months for Raducanu, who split from her billionaire boyfriend Carlo Agostinelli in June.
Raducanu is also said to have blocked her 23-year-old ex – who is the son of tycoon Robert Agostinelli, the co-founder and chairman of private equity firm Rhone Group – on social media.
The tennis sensation was forced to spend around eight months out of action last year due to surgery, and opted out of the French Open just last month as she decided to work on her fitness for grass and hard-court seasons.
Raducanu made nearly £10million last year thanks to brand deals despite her failure to repeat her 2021 US Open success.
Sponsorship and endorsement deals with the likes of Porsche, Nike, British Airways, Evian, Dior, Tiffany and Vodafone, saw a meteoric rise in her finances last year regardless of having a difficult time on the tennis court.
Accounts published for her company Harbour 6 for the 12 months to the end of February 2023 showed that her fortune rocketed from £667,000 to £10.2million.
She has faced accusations that too much time is being spent on off court money spinning work than progressing as a tennis star.
But her management team have said this is not the case, with her agent Max Eisenbud saying she had passed up on ‘millions’ in sponsorship deals.
Raducanu’s relationship with Agostinelli, a former head boy of the elite Harrow School, is understood to have been her most serious yet, as she has previously told of how she was banned from having boyfriends growing up.
Inside Emma Raducanu’s unorthodox preparation for the US Open as she crashes out in the first round
BY MATTHEW LAMBERT
Not for the first time in her nascent career, Emma Raducanu‘s scheduling has been unorthodox to say the least.
The 21-year-old skipped the Olympics and instead played the Citi Open in Washington, where she narrowly lost to eventual champion Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals on August 2.
Since then… nothing. The British No2 withdrew from qualifying events in both Toronto and Cincinnati and decided against playing a lower-level tournament this week in Monterrey or Cleveland.
Instead she returned to the UK and was training at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. Last Tuesday, she arrived in New York and began practising at Flushing Meadows.
When the US Open began on Monday, Raducanu started having not played a competitive match for 24 days.
It is an extraordinary approach given that there is no suggestion she is carrying an injury.
For comparison, the five players ranked above and below her spot of 71 have played an average of two events and five matches since Raducanu’s last appearance.
Emma Raducanu has spent the last month on the sidelines after appearing at the Citi Open
The 21-year-old reached the quarter-finals in Washington before being eliminated by Paula Badosa
Raducanu was hoping for a return to form at the site of her greatest success
Add in her decision to skip the French Open, and there is an apparent reluctance from the former British No1 to go through the grind of qualifying events.
The last time she did so was back at the US Open in 2021, when she won the whole thing.
Former Olympic gold medallist and Tennis Channel analyst Monica Puig is among those to question Raducanu’s decision.
‘We never really have to shy away from qualifying,’ said the Puerto Rican. ‘It doesn’t mean you are ‘less than’ by any means. Getting those extra matches, I feel like Emma needs at this point to get that momentum going into the US Open.
‘Playing in a match situation is something that can’t be replicated in practice.’ One suspects Raducanu would have played in these blue-chip events had she been awarded a wildcard, but it is three years since her Grand Slam title and the free passes into big tournaments are drying up.
And the danger is that if she continues to shun qualifying, she will get caught in a vicious cycle of not playing enough events to get her ranking above the threshold where she will be guaranteed entry into the biggest tournaments.
What makes the sudden cessation of matches perplexing is that Raducanu was on a solid run of form.
She had recorded at least two wins at four tournaments in a row from Nottingham to Washington. She may not be injured, but one factor is undoubtedly physical.
Raducanu has been extremely careful not to over-tax her body following ankle and double-wrist surgeries last year.
Sky Sports pundit Naomi Cavaday, whose words carry more weight given she is the sister of Raducanu’s coach Nick, was asked about Raducanu skipping the qualifying events and said: ‘Body feeling it a touch, trying to keep that managed.’
Traditional tennis logic is that matches are key to building and maintaining form but Raducanu builds confidence through practice.
The last time she took an extended break — from the Madrid Open in April to the start of the grass-court season — the result was the most consistent run of her career. After 10 wins in her last 14 matches before today, Raducanu can reasonably point out that her mantra of only competing when she feels fully fit is working well.
The British star made history when she became the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a singles Grand Slam title
Much of the early part of her season was disrupted after she underwent surgery last year
Carlos Alcaraz’s uncharacteristic destruction of his racket after what he called the worst performance of his career against Gael Monfils in Cincinnati — fresh off his emotional defeat in the Olympic gold-medal match — showed why it can often be better to take time off to recharge.
And last week, world No1 Iga Swiatek became the latest player to complain about the schedule.
So is there method in Raducanu’s if not exactly madness then at least eccentricity?
A good start in the Big Apple and all would have been forgotten. But after an early exit, the vultures will now start to circle again.
