Emma Raducanu refused to be too critical of herself after crashing out in the second round of the Australian Open due to her injury-plagued preparation for the tournament.
The British 28th seed had hoped to set up another meeting with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, but she fell from a promising position to a 7-6 (3), 6-2 defeat to Anastasia Potapova.
“I don’t want to make it too difficult for myself because I know how I prepared for this tournament,” she said. “I have to leave with my head held high because of the games I’ve played here. I didn’t even know if I was coming to Australia at the beginning, so in that sense it’s positive.”
Raducanu started well against the world number 55, opening up a 5-3 lead, but never felt comfortable in windy conditions. “It was one of those moments where you’re 5-3 up but you’re not feeling particularly good and you try to play every point however you can,” said the 23-year-old. “It’s not the way I really want to play. It put me ahead. I just didn’t feel like I could scrap the whole game.”
In what has become a recurring theme, Raducanu’s preparations for a grand slam tournament were hurt by physical problems. She battled a foot injury throughout the offseason and only started intense exercises days before her first game of the season.
Raducanu failed to find her highest level during her three weeks in Australia, particularly the quality of her serve and forehand, which she believes is a result of her less than ideal build-up.
“If you had told me I would have played four or five games in Australia regardless of how they went, I think it would have been quite surprising from a physical perspective,” Raducanu said.
“I think I’ve gotten better with every match except today. But having to learn through matches is something that’s very difficult and not something I really want to do. But because it’s a Grand Slam, you feel like you don’t want to miss it. So I don’t regret the decision because I got to come and play a Slam here.”
“Even though I wasn’t quite ready yet, I think I’ve had a good three weeks, both on and off the pitch. I just have to take it as it is, be pragmatic and go back and keep working. The season is still quite long, so if I stay healthy and do the right things, hopefully things will fall into place.”
Raducanu will next compete in Cluj, Romania, a WTA 250 event that starts on February 1, but she says her main goal now is to reevaluate her game and rediscover her identity on the court, having strayed too far from the basic attacking game that brought her early success.
“At the end of the day, I just want to hit the ball in the corners and hit it hard,” she said. “I feel like I’m doing all this variety, and it’s not doing what I want. I just have to work on playing in a way that’s more like how I played when I was younger.
“I always changed direction, got the ball early and went for it. I think I have the ability to do a lot of things on the field, but I feel like as I’m learning all those skills, it’s like I also have to kind of stay focused and work on that. For me, it’s pretty easy.”
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