Emma Raducanu was thrashed 6-1 6-2 by Elena Rybakina in the third round of the US Open and the British No.1 claimed she is targeted by the top stars
Emma Raducanu, says she feels like a marked woman on the tennis circuit after suffering another swift Grand Slam defeat, this time at the hands of Elena Rybakina in the US Open.
The 22 year-old set new records for her quickest Major wins in her opening two rounds against qualifiers. However, she was soundly beaten 6-1 6-2 by the No. 9 seed in just 62 minutes, creating a new record she didn’t want: her fastest Grand Slam defeat to date.
Despite her meteoric rise and her triumph in New York in 2021, Raducanu has yet to secure a victory over a top-10 player in a Major tournament. The gap in skill between her and the world’s best players has been highlighted by her Grand Slam losses this year to Iga Swiatek (6-1 6-0 in Melbourne and 6-1 6-2 in Paris) and Sabalenka (7-6 6-4) at Wimbledon.
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Asked if she felt she had become a target due to her past successes, the world No. 36 responded: « Yeah, big time. I think when the very top play against me, they have a point to prove that they’re at the top, and they’re there for a reason. I think every time I’ve played one, they’ve kind of shown that.
« So I think at the same time while I’m improving, doing better, gaining maybe some more respect around, I think the top have definitely raised their game. I’ll take that as a compliment that they’ve decided to really lock in against me, but at the same time it does show I have a lot more work to do. »
Rybakina, the Russian-born Kazakh powerhouse, dominated the match with Raducanu, breaking her serve four times and leaving her trailing 0-3 from the outset. Despite only making 47% of first serves, Rybakina didn’t face a single break point.
Sky Sports pundit Laura Robson criticised Raducanu’s strategy, saying: « I think Raducanu just wasn’t committed tactically, going one way or the other. »
However, Britain’s number one player defended herself, stating: « When these top players are playing really well, it’s difficult. I think every time I’ve played Iga and Elena, they’ve played unbelievable.
« The ball just comes through really, really fast, and you feel like you just don’t really have any time to create anything. It’s just constant pressure.
« Then when there is a shorter ball, you feel more pressure to execute, and then maybe make some errors that you don’t usually make. That’s probably the biggest tell. »
Raducanu, who previously managed to take a set off Sabalenka in Cincinnati, added: « A lot of it on match-ups as well. On paper Aryna No.1 in the word. But I find it harder to play against Elena in that kind of form. »
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