Emma Raducanu makes admission about ‘collective call’ over her schedule as she plots the way forward
An emotional Emma Raducanu admitted she has to “go back to the drawing board” after her US Open disappointment as she also acknowledged that she will need to manage her schedule better in future.
Three years ago Raducanu stunned the tennis world when she won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier on her debut in New York, but she is yet to win at Flushing Meadows since that glorious run as she suffered two first-round defeats while last year she missed the tournament as she was recovering from surgery.
In a blockbuster match featuring two Grand Slam winners, Raducanu slumped to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 defeat against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
The 21-year-old was visibly emotional during her post-match press conference as she explained: “I feel down, like I feel sad. This is a tournament I really want to do well in.
She continued: “I’m just going to go back to the drawing board and train and analyse where I went wrong and try and improve for the rest of the season.
“Obviously, the Slams are over for this year, but it’s not actually that long until Australia comes around again.”
One of the big talking points in recent months has been Raducanu’s schedule – or more importantly her lack of tournaments.
Emma Raducanu News
Emma Raducanu’s schedule gamble backfires as crazy US Open stat highlighted after latest defeat
Emma Raducanu names the GOAT and her favourite player between Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer
She skipped French Open qualifying in order to focus on the grass-court swing and played three events, including Wimbledon where she reached the fourth round.
That was followed by another peculiar decision to turn down the chance to compete at the Paris Olympics as she revealed she wanted to focus on the North American hard-court season and wasn’t keen to go from grass to clay to hard court.
Yet she ended up playing just one US Open warm-up event as she reached the quarter-final in Washington DC. She didn’t feature in qualifiers in Canada or Cincinnati as her ranking was not good enough for a direct entry.
And it is the decision not to play qualies or drop down a level to get matches under her belt that raised questions.
Now that all is said and done, she admitted it was a “collective call” from her team, but suggested she will do things differently next year.
“I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more before coming into the US Open,” she said.
“I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good, you feel like everything’s automatic.
“I can learn from it. And, you know, manage my schedule slightly differently.
“It wasn’t just me. It was more of like a collective call and that’s what happened, and I can’t really change it.”
Raducanu currently sits at No 72 in the WTA Rankings, but she could still drop a few places and could find it difficult to gain direct entry into high-profile events.
Her next appearance will be at the Korea Open from September 16-22 as she has been handed a wildcard, but the draw will be tough as Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula will all feature at the WTA 500 event.
READ NEXT: The 4 unseeded players to win US Open title in the Open Era – ft. Andre Agassi, Emma Raducanu
