Raducanu is struggling to establish a foothold in the encounter against the in-form Alize Cornet. A significant drop in the world rankings could make future competitions more difficult, but the British player is still a teenager.
Alize Cornet defeated Emma Raducanu in straight sets in the first round of the US Open, ending the Romanian’s championship defense.
The British tennis star’s 6-3, 6-3 defeat in New York dashed her dreams of replicating last year’s fairytale victory.
Cornet utilized her drop shot particularly well to defeat Raducanu, who was seeded eleventh.
This is her first loss in the first round of a grand slam.
The loss and subsequent drop in the world rankings could make future events more difficult for her since she risks being paired against the best players at the outset.
However, Raducanu’s opening encounter was a difficult one.
Cornet is rated 40th in the world and has had a successful year, most notably ending Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak at Wimbledon.
Raducanu sprang to prominence a year ago after winning the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, but he has since struggled to reach such same heights.
However, the Briton is only 19 years old and has many more years to potentially mature.
Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans both advanced to the second round of the US Open on Tuesday, providing better news for other British players beginning their US Open campaigns on the same day.
Norrie, the seventh seed, defeated Benoit Paire 6-0 7-6 (7-1) 6-0, while Evans defeated Jiri Vesely 6-4 6-1 6-1.
