Tearful Emma Raducanu speaks openly about her problems after Roland Garros defeat
Emma Raducanu struggled to contain her emotions after her return to a Grand Slam stage ended quickly with a 6-0 7-6 (4) defeat against Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
Raducanu’s French Open challenge was predictably brief as the troubled British No 1 was beaten on the opening day at Roland Garros and she was close to tears in her post-match press conference.
The 2021 US Open champion has been struggling with a virus all year and has played just two matches during the clay court season, with the strain of trying to get her career back on track clearly taking its toll.
When asked how she finds a way to keep her spirits up when she is struggling with injuries and illness and failing to get results on court, her voice cracked as she gave her answer to the media.
“It’s very difficult,” she said. “I think you need a lot of resilience. I think I’m trying my best each day, and I think that’s all I can ask of myself.”
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Raducanu was coughing on court during the match in what appeared to be a legacy of the virus that has affected her so badly and she suggested the clay court dust did not help.
“I’ve been struggling with a cough for the last few weeks. Otherwise, my symptoms have been good. I’ve just been left with a lingering cough,” continued Raducanu, who made an alarming 42 unforced errors in the match.
“I think the clay kinda irritates it a little, but overall health wise I feel good. Just a lingering cough.”
Raducanu has been understandably guarded about the nature of her illness over the last few weeks, but she is clearly fighting her way back to full health after the challenges that forced her off court since the Indian Wells Open in early March.
She also revealed she had considered skipping the entire clay court season and focusing on a grass court return, but she insisted she had no regrets about playing in Strasbourg at a WTA 500 event last week and now at Roland Garros.
“In hindsight, after the two matches I’ve played, it could have been nice to have saved yourself the match like today,” she said.
“I think it will help me. I think I haven’t played matches, and it’s obviously very difficult coming in not having had any matches towards the back end of the clay season and these girls have had tournament after tournament of confidence and wins. So I think that was pretty tricky for me.
“I didn’t necessarily do as well as I’d like to this year, but I think the only way to face and improve how I’m feeling is to go through the tough parts, to go through the pain of it, and hopefully come out on the other side better and stronger.”
“I have to at least take the fact that, from a set and 4-1 down, I came back and made it competitive in the second set. I’m pretty disappointed. Obviously, I wanted to do better.
“I went on the court, I felt like the conditions were extremely lively and I felt like I wasn’t able to trust my shots and didn’t feel like I had control over the ball.
“I think probably just a bit light on matches, a bit light on confidence coming into the tournament.”
Raducanu is now due to play at the WTA 500 tournament at the Queen’s Club in London in the second week of June, as she looks to find her feet on grass courts once again.
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