WATCH: Emma Raducanu returns to training immediately after 55 minute thumping
Emma Raducanu was beaten in emphatic fashion at the Sydney International in preparation for the Australian Open, but she returned to the court immediately after her loss to correct her mistakes.
In her first match of the season, Raducanu narrowly avoided a double-bagel when she was beaten 6-0, 6-1 in just 55 minutes by Elena Rybakina. The heavy defeat comes just one week before the Australian Open.
Under the guidance of newly-appointed coach Torben Beltz, Raducanu returned to court to train after the resounding defeat.
This result would have come as a shock to many considering the British sensation shocked the world when she won the US Open to become the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam title.
Although, it is worth remembering that this was Raducanu’s first competitive match in two months. This was also compounded by her forced withdrawal from the Abu Dhabi Exhibition after she contracted Covid-19.
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Despite the heavy defeat, Raducanu displayed maturity beyond her years and refused to be too disheartened by the loss.
After the match, Raducanu said “I think I’ll brush this off. Yesterday was pretty much my second time playing competitive points for two months. I’m confident that I can brush it off and keep going and keep working.
“I just want to keep putting myself out there. Even if I keep getting knocked down, it’s just about getting back up and basically falling in front. You’re one step better and you learn more.
“I think one of my goals is not to get too down or too high. It’s to just try and keep a steady progress, tracking upwards hopefully.
“I didn’t play tennis for 21 days and to come out and play Rybakina straight up is tough, but it’s good because I’m proud and happy that I put myself out there.
“I could have easily said it’s too soon and just play next week [at the Australian Open], but I wanted to really test where I’m at and obviously give myself some competitive points and matches. I think this will help put me in a better place for next week.
“After the match I got a box of balls and went straight to the practice court. I felt like I could have done some things better in the match, and I wanted to try and fix it straight away, just leave with a better feeling about it. So we went on court.”
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