NEW YORK. – Emma Raducanu, who made a dream run to the US Open title last year, suffered a nightmare 6-3, 6-3 first round loss to Frenchwoman Alize Cornet on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) as the clock finally struck midnight on an improbable tennis fairytale.
Raducanu captivated the sporting world when she became the first qualifier to claim a Grand Slam title, winning 10 matches in New York without dropping a set, catapulting her career into the stratosphere, and making her one of the most marketable athletes on the planet.
Twelve months ago, Raducanu arrived at her opening match an unknown with no expectations or pressure, but the 19-year-old sometimes appeared to be carrying the weight of world on her slender shoulders.
Not only was Raducanu defending her one and only title but a massive 2,040 of her 2,756 ranking points and with those gone the world No. 11 will drop out of the top 70 and back having to qualify for some events or depend on wildcards.
But the loss, said Raducanu, has also brought freedom and a clean slate that will allow her to reconstruct her game and career without unrealistic expectations.
“Obviously really disappointing, really sad to leave here,” Raducanu told a post-match press conference, her face partially hidden by a baseball cap pulled tight to her eyes. “But also, in a way happy because it’s a clean slate.
“I’m going to drop down the rankings. Climb my way back up. In a way the target will be off my back slightly.”
Raducanu endured a difficult first full year on Tour with injuries and poor form limiting her match wins, with each early exit bringing increased scrutiny.
In other matches in women’s play, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and twice US Open winner Naomi Osaka were also ousted in the opening round.
Rybakina became the latest top seed to exit the tournament after suffering a shock 6-4, 6-4 defeat by French qualifier Clara Burel while Osaka, unseeded this year, lost 7-6(5), 6-3 to Australian open finalist Danielle Collins.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek cruised into the second round after crushing Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-0, but two-time US Open winner Venus Williams bowed out after losing 6-1 7-6 to Alison van Uytvanck of Belgium.
