Emma Raducanu has reacted to once again facing and losing against a top player, with Elena Rybakina her latest conqueror.
It was a remarkable performance from the world number ten, who crushed the 22-year-old 6-1, 6-2, in just shy of an hour. The way in which she was striking the ball with such crisp power has, for many, put her in contention for the US Open title.
And with good reason.
Despite her dominance, Laura Robson suggested Raducanu made a crucial mistake vs Rybakina that did not help her cause. That being said, it felt like very little would have disrupted the former Wimbledon champion today.
Speaking at the press conference afterwards, she sought to explain how it feels to once again have faced a top-level opponent so early in a competition.
Emma Raducanu says why she thinks the top players raise their level against her
Asked about the difficulties of tackling these elite players, the British number one began by admitting: “Yeah, I’d say, um, it’s a goal for sure and a target.
“Yeah, I’ve lost to Iga twice, Aryna and Elena, so it’s tough. But at the same time, that’s where I’m at with my ranking.
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“Like, I can play top opponents in the first, second or third round. So I just got to do my best in the next few months until Australia to just keep working, to try and close the gap.
“I think depending on the day, depending on how, you know, we match up, I think I’m getting better overall, I think I’m improving, for sure in the last few months.
“So, I just need to keep consistent and put this one behind me.”
She then sought to theorise why the likes of Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka supposedly raise their level when facing her: “Yeah, big time.
“I think, when the very top play against me, like, they have a point to prove that they’re at the top and they’re there for a reason, and 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, yeah, the top players definitely just raise their game.
“But I’ll take that as a compliment that they’ve, like, decided to really lock in against me. At the same time, it does show I have a lot more work to do.”
Emma Raducanu is moving in the right direction
Despite the heavy nature of this particular loss, Emma Raducanu is quite clearly making great strides in the right direction.
After all, this US Open marked yet another event where she has won the first round or two, with Indian Wells in March being the last tournament where she suffered an opening-round defeat.
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Now, she is a consistent threat who routinely waltzes through the early stages of tournaments, guaranteeing her a steady stream of ranking points that will eventually make these match-ups with the big players early on far less frequent.
Raducanu is building towards something very special and clearly has the talent and drive to trouble the very best players on tour.
Frustratingly, it will take some time to get to that level where she can regularly take them on and beat them. For now, great results against the top stars will be few and far between for her.