Emma Raducanu: Wimbledon exits “hard to take away”, but Britain’s No. 1 draws confidence from failure
It was her failed positive attitude that made Raducanu pay for the next step in her career.
The qualifier that shocked the world with a New York victory four years ago proved that she was thriving at her biggest stage.
She wasn’t shocked by her this time, and in the electric atmosphere, the weight of Britain No. 1 in Wimbledon, the crowd was eager to celebrate all her success.
She did not shrink when the tough moments inevitably arrived, lasting seven fixed points in the first set and showing her determination to reappear in the second set, each further proof that she was heading in the right direction.
In the years since the fairytale US Open victory, she has suffered setbacks and increased expectations, trying to compete despite the ongoing changes in her coaching setup.
At this time last year, she continued to rebuild her career, ranking 135th, climbing back to the top 50 from outside the top 300.
Eventually, the next step back to the top of the sport is to compete with opponents like Sabalenka and overcome them.
Raducanu fell to former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at both the Australian Open and French Open earlier this year, winning just four games to emphasize the existing bay.
But this is an acid test for the progress of Raducanu 2.0 – the results are encouraging.
“I think when I look back on my career, I really remember this game because you play in those moments and really compete with anyone toes, especially the best,” Rakanu said.
“I think I have indeed made good progress over the past few months, 100% consistency and work has been done.
“I still need to keep doing more.”
