Tearful Emma Raducanu makes painful admission after opening round defeat at the US Open and insists she will ‘manage her schedule differently’ going forward

Emma Raducanu tearfully admitted she will look to ‘manage my schedule differently’ after she was beaten in the first round of the US Open by Sofia Kenin – her first competitive match since August 2.

The 21-year-old is still waiting for her first victory at the US Open since winning the title three years ago.

The 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 defeat brings into sharper focus Raducanu’s decision not to not play any tournaments since Washington at the start of the month. 

Would a little more match sharpness have made the difference in crucial moments in the deciding set? We cannot say for sure, but they call them warm up tournaments for a reason.

‘I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more before coming into the US Open,’ admitted Raducanu. ‘I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good, you feel like everything’s automatic. So yeah, I think I can learn from it and manage my schedule slightly differently.’

The Brit was dumped out of the US Open in the first round, losing to American Sofia Kenin

Raducanu, 21, was on court for two hours and 11 minutes but lost the three-set match

Asked to clarify whether the decision to return home to London after Washington rather than play qualifying in Cincinnati was a personal or a team decision, Raducanu replied: ‘I would say it wasn’t me. It was more of like a collective call and, yeah, that’s what happened. You can’t really change it.’

Becoming tearful as she tried to explain her state of mind after this defeat, Raducanu said: ‘I feel down… I feel, I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in.’

Kenin, 25, won the Australian Open in 2020 but a variety of issues have depressed her ranking outside the top 50.

She retains her superb court craft though and in the opening set Raducanu could not handle the American’s quirky, counter-punching style. 

Sofia Kenin moves on to face either Shelby Rogers or Jessica Pegula in the second round

Raducanu has been battling a series of injuries throughout the year and hasn’t played much

The Kenin drop shot is uniquely difficult to read because she hits it double handed, meaning the usual clue of the left hand coming off the racket does not arrive.

Raducanu settled down in the second set and played with more patience. She carried on an almost constant dialogue with coach Nick Cavaday between points as they sought to find a way through the Kenin defences.

She had a break point to go 2-0 up in the third set but once Kenin got her nose in front she was comfortable.