It’s the end of the road for Emma Raducanu.
Raducanu’s redemption run at the U.S. Open came to an abrupt end Friday as Elena Rybakina surged past her, 6-1, 6-2, at Louis Armstrong Stadium in the third round.
Rybakina, the world’s 10th-ranked women’s player, needed only 62 minutes to eliminate Raducanu, who struggled to find a rhythm all morning.
“When I did have a ball, it was kind of hard for me to all of a sudden hit a quality shot, because so many of them were so deep, or I didn’t touch that many either,” Raducanu, 22, said. “So it was just hard to really capitalize on the few moments that I had.”
The third-round exit ended Raducanu’s deepest run at the Open since 2021, when she shocked the tennis world by winning the tournament as an 18-year-old qualifier.
Raducanu had not won a match at the Open since then, suffering first-round exits in 2022 and 2024 while missing the 2023 tournament due to injury.
She ended that drought Sunday by beating Ena Shibahara in straight sets, then topped Janice Tjen in the second round, again without dropping a set.
“Tough to enjoy today, but I think in the big scheme of things, I’m working towards playing better and being a better tennis player, more complete overall,” Raducanu said Friday.
“I want to train, like, a lot, and I practice quite a lot of hours, but I think at the same time it can put a lot of wear on my body. So I think now I’m doing a good job. Pretty strong and fit overall, for the most part. I’m not getting injured. But that’s where I need to be reined in, and I need the people around me to kind of pull me back and say, “We’ve done enough.’”
Raducanu underwent surgeries on both wrists and an ankle in 2023. This was the first year since 2022 that the British star competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments.
All four ended with Raducanu losing to an elite opponent. Iga Swiatek beat her in the third round of the Australian Open and in the second round of the French Open while Aryna Sabalenka defeated Raducanu in the third round in July.
“That’s where I’m at with my ranking,” said Raducanu, the world’s 36th-ranked player. “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 said she will continue to work with coach Francisco Roig through at least the end of the year. Raducanu hired Roig, who worked with Rafael Nadal from 2005-22, earlier this month.
“It’s only been three weeks, but I think it’s been a pretty successful three weeks in a sense that we’ve made good improvements,” Raducanu said.
“Today, my weaknesses were highlighted, but it’s only been three weeks, and he can’t really work miracles, you know? So I know we’re doing good work, and I just look forward to continuing.”
