Emma Raducanu choked back tears as she admitted she will need to manage her schedule differently moving forward after being knocked out of the US Open in the first round by Sofia Kenin 6-1 3-6 6-4. The 21-year-old hasn’t won a game at the American grand slam since taking out the title some three years ago and on Wednesday she struggled to find any sort of rhythm on the court once again.
Leading up to the final grand slam of the year, Raducanu drew the ire of many for her unorthodox preparation. Raducanu’s first-round US Open defeat was her first competitive match since August 2. And reflecting on her decision to not play any tournaments in the weeks leading up to the grand slam, Raducanu admitted she will need to reassess things.
I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more before coming into the US Open,” admitted Raducanu. “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.
“I feel down… I feel, I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in.'”
Raducanu opted to skip the Olympic Games to prepare for the US Open, but she ended up playing only three matches in Washington and one in New York in preparation. She decided to return to London for a training block rather than enter qualifying at tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati in what many believed was a peculiar choice.
But Raducanu defended her limited playing schedule ahead of the US Open stating: “I just always do things a little bit differently.” However, against fellow former grand slam champion Kenin, the lack of match practice showed.
Raducanu got off to a sluggish start, winning just a single game in the first set before rallying to take the second. But she ran out of steam in the third, giving up a crucial break in the deciding set with a double fault which proved decisive.
Before the US Open began she was defiant in her stance that the training blocks were as good if not better than entering every tournament but it didn’t pay off this time around. When pressed on what made her decide to return home to the UK rather than play in the lead-up tournament in Cincinnati, Raducanu said it was not entirely her decision. “It wasn’t just me. It was more of a collective call and that’s what happened, and I can’t really change it.”
Emma Raducanu’s unorthodox preparation for the US Open
Raducanu’s tennis schedule is unorthodox, to say the least. After skipping the Olympics she played at the Citi Open in Washington, where she eventually lost to eventual champion Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals on August 2. Following that loss she didn’t play a single competitive match, instead returning to the UK to train at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
Last week, the World No.71 arrived in New York and began practising at Flushing Meadows and by the time she took to the court in the US Open first round, Raducanu had not played a competitive match for 24 days. The decision is even more peculiar given the fact she is not managing an injury. In comparison, the five players ranked above and below her, in the tennis world rankings, have played an average of two events and five matches since August 2.
There is a strong belief that the Brit just doesn’t want to go through the grind of qualifying and reports suggest she believes those events are ‘beneath her’. However, former Olympic gold medallist and Tennis Channel analyst Monica Puig believes she needs to be playing a lot more frequently. “We never really have to shy away from qualifying,” said Puig.
“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.” And after crashing out of the first round, the tennis world took to social media to urge Raducanu to rethink her methods.
