Raducanu’s latest bitter defeat reminds us of the high standards in tennis | US Open Tennis 2024

Late Tuesday night, Emma Raducanu wiped tears from her eyes at Arthur Ashe Stadium as she digested another bitter first-round loss at the US Open. Her narrow, frantic three-set loss to Sofia Kenin in the tournament that gave her a career-defining victory three years ago was all the more painful given the closeness of the encounter.

Although Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open winner, entered the final Grand Slam tournament of the year in poor form, she rose to the challenge and played a fantastic match.

Raducanu had no answer at first, but she fought her way back into the match with ingenuity and fighting spirit. In the important moments, however, Kenin struck the ball with greater freedom. She embarrassed Raducanu with her versatility and held firm in the end.

Nevertheless, there is only one conclusion that can be drawn from Raducanu’s defeat: Although she fought hard and contributed to a high-class encounter, she simply did not give herself the best chance of success by missing the North American hard court tour for four weeks before the tournament.

Raducanu had been playing top-class tennis since April, when she led Great Britain to victory over France in the Billie Jean King Cup. She had reached the quarterfinals or better in four tournaments and the fourth round of Wimbledon, beating several top-10 players along the way. But then, strangely, she stopped playing tennis.

After her encouraging quarterfinal loss in Washington on August 2, Raducanu decided not to compete again until the US Open. As with the Italian and French Opens, which she missed earlier this year, she was unable to enter the main draw of the missed events due to her ranking and was not offered any wildcards.

Instead of taking the opportunity to drop back and gain more playing time, Raducanu returned to the sterile, familiar surroundings of the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.

Before the tournament, Raducanu had stated, not for the first time, that she had “always done things a little differently” and that her scheduling was one of the ways she differed from other players. Raducanu’s early success clearly encouraged her to approach her career in her own way, but there seems to be a hint of hubris about some of the decisions she and her team have made.

Tennis players need to play tennis matches. Regular competition gives players a better chance to hone their decision-making, hold their nerve under pressure and figure out how to adapt their game to different styles of play. Not even Serena Williams, notoriously busy, would have thought she could stroll into a Grand Slam tournament without a single match under her belt and dominate, unless an injury left her no other choice.

Kenin is a fine player in her own right, whose resume surpasses Raducanu’s. The American followed her run in Australia with a French Open final before being named WTA Player of the Year in 2020, and her decline since then has been even steeper. Her level on Tuesday was excellent enough to win regardless of her opponent’s preparation. But Raducanu and her team must ensure she steps to the baseline fully prepared for any challenge. Here, she clearly wasn’t.

Maybe this defeat is the reality check that Raducanu’s team needs. This time there are no injuries or unfortunate circumstances that could be cited as a possible cause.

After the loss, Raducanu acknowledged that she would have benefited from making better decisions earlier in the season and that she would like to compete more in the future. She also noted that the decision to go home to Washington was a collective one – those advising her could do more to keep her, a still inexperienced 21-year-old player, on the right path.

This is an incredibly tough, competitive sport, and given the current strength of the WTA Tour, there are many players who are capable of performing at their best every day. Given the constant travel, competition, and increasing targets breathing down the necks of every successful player, sustained success requires players to put themselves in uncomfortable, vulnerable situations every week and find a way out the other side. It remains to be seen if and when Raducanu will be ready to truly commit.