Emma Raducanu’s US Open campaign has been halted at the third round, comprehensively beaten by Elena Rybakina in two straightforward sets.
The former Wimbledon champion was inspired from the word go, hitting smooth, powerful groundstrokes that the British number one just could not deal with.
Emma Raducanu’s game plan did come across as somewhat questionable, unsure of whether she wanted to be aggressive or defensive. Admittedly, the racket was taken completely out of her hands at times.
Rybakina was unplayable, crushing both the ball and the spirit of her opponent.
Marion Bartoli, who watched this match from courtside, noticed something particularly interesting about what the 2021 US Open champion was saying to herself as the match slowly slipped away from her.
What Emma Raducanu was saying to herself mid-match vs Elena Rybakina
Speaking live on Sky Sports deep in the second set, as Elena Rybakina drew ever closer to yet another win, they turned to the pundit to ask what Raducanu could possibly have done differently to have halted her opponent.
Bartoli admitted: “It feels like she’s running out of time.”
She continued: “It’s been a bit of a shame that second set, especially that first game when she was up 40-0 on her own and she just couldn’t hold that serve because it really set the tone for the rest of the set.
“Something I’ve noticed being very close to her, she keeps on saying to herself, before each point, ‘Come on, keep fighting, keep fighting.’ But it seems like Emma has been having a hard time to open up the shoulder and really sort of express herself.
“It seems like she’s very contained in her emotions. And that’s why the crowd is having a tough time to really get behind her because she doesn’t show that expression.”
Bartoli finished by assessing her level, stating: “I think she’s feeling like, you know, it’s just coming too thick, too fast, she doesn’t really have the time to get right.
“She’s missing balls she probably would not have missed on other occasions. And everything is just going by so quickly, we’re only into 59 minutes, but that second set could have unfolded differently if she would have held that first game.”
Rybakina shared how she really felt about Raducanu ahead of this fixture, and it will be interesting to see if their relationship remains after such a mauling.
Emma Raducanu brought back down to earth by Elena Rybakina
Having recently received a huge confidence boost by pushing Aryna Sabalenka to the brink twice over the summer, this marked Raducanu crashing back down to earth at the hands of the ruthless Rybakina.
She was not in the mood to get dragged into a dogfight, hitting the ball with such power and accuracy that put the result beyond doubt long before its official conclusion.
The Kazakhstani served with remarkable power despite her first serve percentage sitting at just 47%, whilst her British opponent could only win a disappointing 29% of points on her second serve.
Rybakina was winning her service games comprehensively and did not face a break point. Meanwhile, she mauled the Raducanu serve whenever possible.
It marks a humbling defeat for the latter, who will head back to the practice courts to continue her upward trajectory despite this heavy loss.
