By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, January 11, 2022
World No. 13 Elena Rybakina reigned on Emma Raducanu's return 6-0, 6-1 in Sydney. The US Open champion provided perspective afterward.
Photo credit: Getty
Emma Raducanu's road to the Happy Slam began with harsh crash in Sydney.
World No. 13 Elena Rybakina rolled Raducanu 6-0, 6-1 dominating the US Open champion's 2022 WTA debut at the Sydney Tennis Classic.
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It was a perfect storm of players occupying opposite ends of the confidence spectrum. Rybakina was fresh off her run to the Adelaide Intertional 1 final where she fell to world No. 1 Ash Barty, while Raducanu, whose training time has been limited after she contracted COVID-19 last month, was playing her first Tour-level match since Linz last November.
It showed as Rybakina streaked through nine straight games before Raducanu finally held to stop the free fall. Raducanu said she was fueled by a simple goal: No love and love loss.
"I wasn't going to lose Love and Love. So that was my motivation," Raducanu said with a smile. "Yeah, I was just fighting. I mean, at the end of the day I just want to keep putting myself out there. Even if I keep getting knocked down and it's just about getting back up and basically just falling in front. You're one step better. You learn more.
"And also, like I'm just at the start of my first season. 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 and tracking upwards hopefully."
The 19-year-old Briton pointed to her lack of match play to put the thrashing in perspective.
"I felt pretty comfortable and welcome out there on court," Raducanu said. "I had a lot of support, which is really good, but, you know, I didn't play tennis for 21 days and to come out and play Rybakina straight up.
"I mean, it's tough but it's good because I'm very proud and happy that I put myself out there, you know. I could have easily said it's too soon and just play next week, but, you know, I wanted to really test where I'm at and obviously give myself some competitive points and matches. I think this will help in putting me in a better place for next week."
One thing Raducanu won't learn from this loss is her fitness level. After a bout with Coronavirus and weeks without match play, Raducanu has been trying to gradually build her fitness to prevent injury. Because points were so brief, Raducanu isn't quite sure how her stamina stacks up ahead of the Australian Open.
Today, Rybakina stamped several strong service games. Rybakina ripped four aces, won 17 of 22 first-serve points and did not face a break point in the 55-minute rout.
"I can't really say that I have a clear answer, because I mean, the points weren't that extended today, but I think physically like for today's match, I don't think that was really the factor that cost the match," Raducanu said. "It's just me being a step slow, a step behind. Yeah, she was sharper and more match tight than I was."
A red-hot Rybakina advanced to the round of 16 against Caroline Garcia, who defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-6(3).
Immediately after her return match, Raducanu and new coach Torben Beltz returned to the practice court.
"I mean, 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 straightaway, just leave with a better feeling about it," said Raducanu, who will be seeded 17th at next week's Australian Open. "So, yeah, we went on court. Then afterwards, I mean, [Torben Beltz] obviously said Rybakina played a great match. She wasn't missing very much.
"But, yeah, there were a few things we are going to chat more in detail about tomorrow and then work on leading up to next week."