Emma Raducanu has crashed out of the US Open after a 6-3, 6-3 first-round loss to France’s Alize Cornet.
Raducanu will drop to around 80 in the rankings, but while he would certainly have liked to go further, there can be a sense of relief that this moment is over and he can try to build stronger foundations for his career of tennis
Naomi Osaka had been given prime time at Arthur Ashe, so Raducanu began her title defense with a Louis Armstrong Stadium, at least at first, sparsely populated.
The fans inside gave Raducanu a warm welcome as they welcomed their most unlikely of champions.
Virginia Wade, who watched Raducanu’s success last year in awe, was courtside, while the main difference in the Kent teenager’s support camp now is the presence of Russian Dmitry Tursunov , whom he tries out while looking for a permanent coach.
The wind affected the match from the start, with Cornet struggling on serve as Raducanu broke in the first game only to return with errors of his own.
Those mistakes quickly began to add up, taking away from the difficult time Raducanu has had on the court over the past 50 weeks, now the hunted rather than the hunter.
The teenager has found it particularly difficult to regain the same free-swinging approach that left his opponents flat-footed, but spoke in the build-up to the determination to be in front.
He had not lost more than five games in any set last year, but Cornet came out on the right side of three straight breaks to take a 5-3 lead in the first set and showed excellent defensive powers to take the set.
The Frenchman revealed in January that she was considering retiring at the end of 2022 but has had one of the best seasons of her career, with a long-awaited first quarter-final in Australia before ending her 37-match unbeaten run Iga Swiatek matches in Australia. Wimbledon.
He will now continue at least until next year’s French Open and, playing in a record 63rd Grand Slam, this was the kind of occasion he relishes.
Raducanu took a medical timeout to tend to blistered fingers and dropped serve again to start the second set.
Cornet was giving away plenty of double-fault free points, though, and with the Frenchwoman unhappy to see the roof close on the game, Raducanu made it three games in a row.
But unable to hold on to the lead, Cornet broke with the worst of the drops and pulled away to claim the win.
Emma Raducanu crashes out of the US Open, how it happened