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.
READ MORE: Emma Raducanu handed US Open humbling as she suffers fastest Grand Slam defeatREAD MORE: Tennis star releases statement refuting racism claims after furious US Open bust-up
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.”