Emma Raducanu's rise and fall from US Open win to dropping to world number 186
Two years ago on Monday, Emma Raducanu was on top of the world.
The British tennis star had completed a remarkable run to win the US Open, the first time a qualifier has won a Grand Slam title. She defeated Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final on that famous night to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1977.
Raducanu was just 18 when she completed her historic achievement, playing in just her second grand slam tournament and had sat her A-Levels only three months beforehand. It was a feat that left her overwhelmed.
“I’m still just so shocked, still in the moment,” she said immediately afterwards. “I can’t believe I came through that last service game. It honestly means absolutely everything to hold this trophy. I just don’t want to let go.
“Yesterday and this morning there were a few weird feelings that I couldn’t put my finger on, I didn’t know what it was, but I think that’s just normal and when I came out on court I felt completely at home, business as usual, I was just focusing one point at a time.
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“I think the level was extremely high, both of us were playing unbelievable tennis. I had to fight really hard to cling onto that first set and then just keep my nose in front in the second.”
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Emma Raducanu won the US Open two years ago on Monday (Getty Images)But that night in New York would prove to be the peak of her career, at least so far. While Raducanu has picked up a raft of lucrative partnerships since her win, on the court, she has failed to reach the same heights.
Since winning the US Open, the British star has failed to make it past the second round in any of the five Grand Slams she has played in since. That led to accusations that her focus was elsewhere, something she has frequently hit back at.
"I throw out one post in the car on the way to practice and all of a sudden it’s ‘I don’t focus on tennis’. I think that it is unfair but it’s something I have learned to deal with and become a bit more insensitive to the outside noise," Raducanu said in 2022.
"At the end of the day, I feel like my days [with sponsors] are pretty limited. I’m not doing crazy days. I’m doing three, four days every quarter, so it’s really not that much. I’m training hard, putting the hours in. My tennis is my focus. That’s definitely at the front of my head."
But her continued struggles drew increasing criticism, with American legend John McEnroe one of her leading critics. McEnroe has questioned the carousel of coaches that Raducanu has had since her won, which has led to a lack of consistency.
"We have got to keep a little perspective here. At Wimbledon last year she was unable to finish a match because of stress and it got to be too much for her. Then she came out and did something that no one has ever done – man or woman – in 150 years of tennis, coming from the qualifying and winning," he said.
John McEnroe has been a frequent critic of Raducanu (PA)"All of a sudden, there is this pressure on her, this expectation, that has gotten a little bit overwhelming as well. She has changed coaches three, four or five times which is unbelievable for someone who has just come off winning a major.
“She has sort of put herself in a difficult position because a lot is expected of her and with the people around her, we are not sure if she is comfortable with them just yet. Honestly, if I won the US Open having gone through qualifying, I wouldn’t change my coach at least for the next year, so I don’t understand that move."
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As well as the coaching round-robin, Raducanu has also been beset by injury. She made a move to fix them by undergoing surgery in May, ruling her out of the rest of 2023 in the process.
"It is safe to say the last 10 months have been difficult as I dealt with a recurring injury on a bone of both hands. I tried my best to manage the pain and play through it for most of this year and end of last year," she said after the operation.
Raducanu is now ranked No.186 in the world (Getty Images)"It pains me that I will miss the summer events and I tried to downplay the issues so I thank all my fans who continued to support me when you did not know the facts. Looking forward to seeing you all back out there."
Things may get more difficult before they get better for Raducanu, who now finds herself ranked 186th in the world. But tennis legend Billie Jean King believes the Brit has it in her to fight back to the top of the sport.
"I just know it’s gotten tough for her, I just hope that she’ll be alright because it’s tough. If you want to be a professional athlete, it’s tough. And you’ve got to learn not to listen to criticism, you got to learn all these things," King said earlier this summer.
“I hope she continues to play, I hope she gets over injuries and comes back and really does well in tennis and particularly in the US Open because she’s won that one now, and the way she won it is still amazing, so I hope she keeps playing."
Raducanu hasn’t played a competitive match since her first round loss to Jelena Ostapenko at the Stuttgart Open. She has won five out of 10 matches played with her best result being a run to the fourth round in Indian Wells.
Her agent, Max Eisenbud recently tipped her to win more Grand Slams when she returns from injury. But two years on from her first Grand Slam win, Raducanu still has much to prove.
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