So soon after such a crushing defeat, Emma Raducanu was not quite ready to reflect on the positive aspects of her performance. Understandably, her eyes were red and still watering. Every thought she articulated was punctuated by a deep sigh. As she looked back to her tussle with Aryna Sabalenka on a Centre Court as loud as it has been for a decade, all the 22-year-old could think about were the opportunities she had squandered: “I think it’s better for me to feel a bit of the pain right now and then process it better that way,” she said.
There will be time in the coming days for Raducanu to reflect on the encouraging step forward she has taken. After being a punching bag for the elite players during her four years on the tour, the Briton did not merely play a relatively tight two-hour match with Sabalenka, she challenged the world No 1 to scale the high bar she had set in her 7-6 (4), 6-4 defeat.
In the process, Raducanu offered a greater understanding of how she can use her strengths to trouble the best players. She smartly chose her moments to attack with her forehand, eked out errors from Sabalenka with her solid defence, maintaining her intensity in the many intense exchanges, and put the Belarusian under sustained pressure with her quality returning.
Her serve, a liability earlier in the year, was largely positive. Raducanu may not match the weight of shot demonstrated by a player of Sabalenka’s capabilities, but her versatile game can leave its own mark.
A week ago, Raducanu’s prospects of a positive outcome at Wimbledon were unconvincing as she tried to manage the back spasms that have limited her time on-court throughout the year in addition to her undisclosed personal issues. She has been criticised as being frail, both her head and her body, but her performances this week through adversity have reflected her toughness.
The best players in the world save their best for the biggest moments and Sabalanka’s level was supreme on the important points. She particularly used her improved variety of shot to break down Raducanu’s formidable defence, thoughtfully opening up the court with angles and width. Her delicious drop shot winner to scupper a set point for Raducanu was one of the best shots of the tournament so far. Even as Centre Court cheered for her demise, the top seed remained composed, reinforcing her status as tournament favourite.
Of late, Raducanu has taken great strides towards extracting the best out of her game. She now recognises she cannot succeed without enjoying her work and that she needs to feed her creative instincts off the court in order to unlock her true potential.
Emma Raducanu (left) was unhappy with the electronic line-calling system during her loss to Aryna Sabalenka. Photograph: Victoria Jones/Shutterstock
She has worked alongside coach Mark Petchey since March and they have established a solid base as she attempts to rise back up the rankings towards the top 30 and beyond. However, she also departed Centre Court aware there will be significant decisions to come.
“It’s very difficult,” Raducanu said. “He also has his commentating commitments. He agreed to help me until the end of Wimbledon and then we see from there because he gave up some work to work with me here, which I really appreciate and I’m grateful for. That’s a conversation that we need to have after a few days and the dust settles a little bit.”
At the same time, the obsession with her private life, and particularly her personal relationship with her prospective US Open mixed doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz, has become unbearable. Shortly before her match, the topic reached a nadir.
While Cameron Norrie celebrated his third round win and anticipation continued to grow before Raducanu’s duel with Sabalenka, a tabloid reporter decided it was appropriate to ask Norrie whether he was dating Raducanu. Norrie, who was being supported in his player box by his long-term girlfriend hours earlier, of course stated he was not. The obsession with Raducanu’s personal life is repulsive and sexist, and obscures her admirable progress on-court.
In defeat, Raducanu also left a parting shot at Wimbledon’s new electronic line-calling (ELC) system. Raducanu took issue with a first serve from Sabalenka at 2-4, 15-0, which she believes was incorrectly called in. After his second round defeat, Jack Draper similarly questioned some of the line calls.
“That call was for sure out. It’s kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they’ve been OK. It’s just I’ve had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. I don’t know. Hopefully they can fix that,” said Raducanu.
