Et was that moment midway through the third set when Emma Raducanu stood in the middle of the court, smiling dreamily as a seagull made laps around the arena. But then this carefree moment flew away with the seagull, and an earth-shattering quarter of an hour later, the young Brit lost the game in the second round of the Australian Open. All in all, that came as no surprise as she has been a long way from the form in which she magically won the US Open title four months ago in New York. At that time, coming out of qualification, she didn’t lose a single set in ten games before winning the title and the world of tennis watched in amazement.
What has happened on the tennis courts since then can be summarized quickly: By the end of the year, Emma Raducanu had played in three tournaments and won a total of two games. A scheduled appearance in December had to be canceled because she contracted Corona, and at the first tournament this year she lost 6-0, 6-1 in Sydney in less than an hour. But it didn’t look as if this defeat contained any dramatic features; right after the game she was back on the pitch with her German coach Torben Beltz to do some more work. And looking back, she said these days that there was no break in Sydney, she could put it all together and had no worries. “I think I can shake that off.”
Off the tennis courts, she had experienced more in the four months since the US Open ended. Almost overnight she landed in the dazzling world of celebrities. Appeared in a breathtaking dress in New York at the famous Met Gala, was a well-received guest at the premiere of the new James Bond film in London, signed endorsement deals with global companies such as Christian Dior and Tiffany, and people everywhere clamored for her . About a young woman of 19 who, a few months before, was still at school in south London and was considered talent, but nothing more. And of course there were also sharp-tongued critics who thought that she should perhaps concentrate on tennis and keep working instead of strutting from one gala to the next in a big robe.
More sensitive skin than usual
Who knows how the start of the new year in Australia would have gone without the enforced Corona break in December. When she started training again after the break, she felt that the skin on her hands was softer, more sensitive than usual, and the result was various blisters on the batting hand. She played in pain in the first round of the Australian Open in a three-set win over American Sloane Stephens, and after that her blisters got so bad she was advised not to try again. But she wanted to give it a try and took on world No. 98 Montenegro Danka Kovinic on Thursday, also to not feel like she’d run away from a task.
Because she couldn’t hold the racquet properly, she failed to slice her forehand more times than she had in all the games of her life combined, and she marveled at how well it worked. “I realized that I can’t do much,” she said afterwards, “but I’m proud that I persevered. How can something as small as a blister be so painful?”
Emma Raducanu fought back against losing to an opponent who would have been a favorite in that game a year ago – nine months before the Days of Miracle at the US Open. After the defeat, she seemed pretty composed and said there were still positive insights. Among other things, this: “I know that I can fight, even if I only have one punch.”
After the return flight, work will continue, just like Leyla Fernandez, the Canadian two months older, with whom she breathed so much wonderful youthful freshness into the US Open final. 2022 will be above all a year of learning, says Emma Raducanu, there are so many situations that are still new to her and in which she needs to gain experience. It’s certainly not entirely wrong to assume that this year won’t be easy for her, that critics will continue to point to her and claim that it all can’t go like this. She will try to find her way. Even if this path will probably never again be as light as it was in late summer 2021 in New York.
