By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty

NEW YORK—The Grandstand resides in the shadow of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It felt like a world away for Emma Raducanu.

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In a clash of Grand Slam champions, the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin sent a tearful Raducanu out of the US Open first round with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory on Grandstand Court.

Kenin won five of the final seven games as Raducanu, who missed the 2023 US Open recovery from wrist surgeries, has not won a match in New York since she conquered Leylah Fernandez in the 2021 US Open final. Fernandez also fell in the first round.

Raducanu, who made history as the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles crown three years ago, said this defeat was deeply dispiriting.

“I feel down, I feel sad,” an emotional Raducanu said. “Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in.”



Prior to Flushing Meadows, the 21-year-old Briton beat Elise Mertens and Peyton Stearns to reach the Washington, DC quarterfinals where she pushed Paula Badosa to three sets in defeat. 

In retrospect, Raducanu said she would have benefited from more match play prior to the US Open. 

"I was maybe a bit slow starting,” Raducanu said. “Yeah, I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more coming into the US Open.

"I think I can learn from it and manage my schedule slightly differently.”



Raducanu, who lost to Lulu Sun in the Wimbledon fourth round last month, aims to play the Korea Open starting on September 16th in Seoul.

“Until then, I'm just gonna go back to the drawing board and train and analyze where I went wrong and try and improve for the rest of the season,” Raducanu said. “Obviously, the Slams are over for this year, but it's not actually that long until Australia comes around again.”