By Janina Nuno Rios
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Emma Raducanu refused to let Friday’s crushing 6-1 6-2 defeat by Elena Rybakina dampen her spirits as she left the U.S. Open determined to build on what she called an encouraging summer of progress.
Raducanu had her best run at Flushing Meadows since winning the title in 2021, securing two dominant straight-sets victories before falling to ninth seed Rybakina.
After failing to win a match during her last two visits to Flushing Meadows, Raducanu was determined to look on the bright side following an encouraging summer.
She had pushed world number one Aryna Sabalenka to the brink in a thrilling third-round clash at the Cincinnati Open and reached the semi-finals of the Washington Open.
“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,” the Briton told reporters.
“I think it’s going to be important to just look at the last few months as a whole, last few weeks as a whole and the improvements that I’m making, because a match like that can easily kind of get you down if you let it.
“I’m going to try and not do that and regroup and just work hard.”
The 22-year-old has now fallen to top-10 opponents at all four majors this season, losing to world number two Iga Swiatek at the Australian and French Opens, Sabalenka at Wimbledon, and now world number 10 Rybakina in New York.
Rather than dwelling on the pattern, Raducanu acknowledged the reality of her world number 36 ranking and the gap she needs to close.
“I’ve lost to Iga twice, Aryna, and Elena, so it’s tough,” she said.
“But at the same time, that’s where I’m at with my ranking. I can play top opponents in the first, second, or third round. So I’ve just got to do my best in the next few months until Australia to just keep working to try and close the gap.”
Raducanu found a peculiar source of encouragement in her major defeats, suggesting elite players felt compelled to raise their games against her.
“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.
“I’ll take that as a compliment, but at the same time it does show I have a lot more work to do.”
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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