Emma Raducanu crashes out of Australian Open after painful defeat
Emma Raducanu's Australian Open dream came to an early end as the British hopeful suffered a second round defeat after a gruelling match against Wang Yafan of China.
Raducanu, 21, came through a first round match against Shelby Rogers on her return to Grand Slam action in Melbourne to set up the meeting with Wang. As the first set went the way of her opponent, though, the former US Open champion knew she was in for a tougher challenge.
Having avoided going two breaks down in the second set, Raducanu found herself serving for the set at 5-3. She had to do it the hard way, though, allowing Wang to break back before breaking again herself to force a decider.
The crucial third set began with Wang drawing first blood with an early break. Raducanu was visibly struggling, calling for the trainer at 2-0 down, and she ultimately wasn't able to mount another comeback, losing 4-6, 6-4, 4-6.
It was Raducanu's first appearance at a grand slam tournament in a full year, after injuries disrupted her progress in 2023 and kept her out of her home tournament at Wimbledon. She was able to overcome Rogers despite concerns going into the tournament, but Wang had too much for her in the early stages of the game.
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Wang, the world number 94, took the first set 6-4 and secured an early break in the second. Raducanu produced an important hold to avoid going two breaks behind, fighting her way back from 2-0 and break point down to take the second set.
Despite struggling with injuries last year, Raducanu insisted she was feeling positive going into the tournament. “Physically I feel good. I did a lot of good work in the off-season," she said ahead of her first-round game.
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Emma Raducanu started slowly against Wang Yafan (Ella Ling/REX/Shutterstock)“But I think that, regardless of how good I may feel on the court on a particular day or in practice, I think to get that level of consistency is going to require more time. I’ve been doing the right work, doing it consistently. I just need to keep going more and more. But I feel good on court and in the gym.”
“I think success to me in the long-term is, for the rest of the year, to play a full season, to be healthy throughout, to be able to train consistent weeks,” she continued “I know my level is there, I just need to keep working on it to make it more consistent.
"I think that will come with time in the gym, time on court, being able to play the calendar, not thinking about ‘Will I have to pull out from this one, does that hurt’? I think my level, to be honest, is just too good not to come through if I put consistent work together.”
Wang took the first set 6-4 (AFP via Getty Images)After a comfortable win against Rogers, who was herself coming back from an interrupted 2023, things were tougher for Raducanu against Wang. However, her hold at the start of the second set felt important.
The Brit saved four break points while at risk of going 3-0 down and having one foot out of the tournament. After that she appeared to finally hit her stride, eventually claiming the second set 6-4.
Raducanu looked in trouble between points in the third as she struggled with illness but still came close to overcoming her opponent. Instead, though, Wang held on to force an all-Chinese affair next time out.
Going into the game, the two players knew they were playing for a chance to take on Zheng Qinwen in the third round. The number 12 seed eliminated Katie Boulter earlier in the day, surviving a nervy moment or two to come through 6-3 6-3.
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