Emma Raducanu faced a heartbreaking exit from the US Open after being served a loss by Elena Rybakina in the third round. She will be seen in action next in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, where she will represent Great Britain, alongside Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, and Jodie Burrage.
Raducanu’s performance in the first two rounds against Ena Shibahara and Janice Tjen showed promise, with the Brit clinching straight-set victories in both. However, she couldn’t find her grip in the match on Friday and had to succumb to Rybakina’s refined groundstrokes. The 2021 US Open champion was demoted to the role of an observer in the contest as she got crushed by Rybakina 6-1, 6-2 in about an hour.
“It was a difficult experience facing her when‘s she playing so well. I just feel that in every department she was better,” Raducanu said after the match to BBC Sport.
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The 22-year-old would hope to shift her focus to the Billie Jean King Cup and bring glory to her country at the tournament. Emma Raducanu's Team Great Britain will face Team Japan in the quarterfinal on Thursday, September 18, and if they win, they will face the winners of the quarterfinal between Team USA and Team Kazakhstan.
Emma Raducanu on improvements in her game with coach Francisco Roig
Emma Raducanu reflected on her experience so far, working with Rafael Nadal's former coach, Francisco Roig. Roig joined Raducanu for a trial period at the beginning of her Wimbledon campaign, but signed up permanently earlier this month.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the Briton revealed her interest in continuing the partnership till the end of the year. She claimed to have witnessed improvements in her game over the course of the three weeks they have been together, and said:
"It's only been three weeks, but it's been a pretty successful three weeks in the sense that we've made good improvements. I know we're doing good work, and I just look forward to continuing that. I'm looking forward to just building day by day."
The Briton also commented on how she doesn't feel any differently about the partnership because of her third-round exit from the US Open.
"There are certain parts of my game which have gotten better for sure. Today my weaknesses were highlighted, but I think it's only been three weeks, and he can't really work miracles," she added.
Emma Raducanu would hope to continue putting in the hard work towards improving the weaknesses she faced during her US Open campaign and come back stronger.
