It’s the tip of the street for Emma Raducanu.
Raducanu’s redemption run on the U.S. Open got here to an abrupt finish Friday as Elena Rybakina surged previous her, 6-1, 6-2, at Louis Armstrong Stadium within the third spherical.
Rybakina, the world’s Tenth-ranked ladies’s participant, wanted solely 62 minutes to eradicate Raducanu, who struggled to discover a rhythm all morning.
“When I did have a ball, it was kind of hard for me to all of a sudden hit a quality shot, because so many of them were so deep, or I didn’t touch that many either,” Raducanu, 22, stated. “So it was just hard to really capitalize on the few moments that I had.”
The third-round exit ended Raducanu’s deepest run on the Open since 2021, when she shocked the tennis world by successful the event as an 18-year-old qualifier.
Raducanu had not received a match on the Open since then, struggling first-round exits in 2022 and 2024 whereas lacking the 2023 event as a consequence of harm.
She ended that drought Sunday by beating Ena Shibahara in straight units, then topped Janice Tjen within the second spherical, once more with out dropping a set.
“Tough to enjoy today, but I think in the big scheme of things, I’m working towards playing better and being a better tennis player, more complete overall,” Raducanu stated Friday.
“I want to train, like, a lot, and I practice quite a lot of hours, but I think at the same time it can put a lot of wear on my body. So I think now I’m doing a good job. Pretty strong and fit overall, for the most part. I’m not getting injured. But that’s where I need to be reined in, and I need the people around me to kind of pull me back and say, “We’ve done enough.’”
Raducanu underwent surgical procedures on each wrists and an ankle in 2023. This was the primary yr since 2022 that the British star competed in all 4 Grand Slam tournaments.
All 4 ended with Raducanu dropping to an elite opponent. Iga Swiatek beat her within the third spherical of the Australian Open and within the second spherical of the French Open whereas Aryna Sabalenka defeated Raducanu within the third spherical in July.
“That’s where I’m at with my ranking,” stated Raducanu, the world’s Thirty sixth-ranked participant. “I can play top opponents in the first, second, or third round. So I’ve just got to do my best in the next few months until Australia to just keep working to try and close the gap.”
Raducanu stated she is going to proceed to work with coach Francisco Roig via not less than the tip of the yr. Raducanu employed Roig, who labored with Rafael Nadal from 2005-22, earlier this month.
“It’s only been three weeks, but I think it’s been a pretty successful three weeks in a sense that we’ve made good improvements,” Raducanu stated.
“Today, my weaknesses were highlighted, but it’s only been three weeks, and he can’t really work miracles, you know? So I know we’re doing good work, and I just look forward to continuing.”
