Emma Raducanu has admitted that she has a new view on her historic US Open victory after what has been a tough first season on the pro tour. The 19-year-old became the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title when she was victorious in Flushing Meadows 11 months ago, and shared her assessment of the difference between the US Open and her year on the WTA Tour.
Raducanu has racked up 15 wins to 18 losses since clinching the US Open title almost a year ago. The Brit was a little-known teenager playing her fourth-ever professional tournament when she became the champion in New York and was thrust into the spotlight and straight up the WTA rankings, earning her a spot in any event on the pro tour.
She has now completed a full year as a touring top player, going out in the third round of the Cincinnati Open to mark her final tournament before returning to the US Open, and has a new outlook on her title-winning fortnight in Flushing Meadows a year ago after struggling to rack up consecutive victories this year and failing to get beyond a quarter-final.
“I think that at the US Open I played really good tennis. I was swinging with the freedom that I started to tap into this week,” she said after a stunning week at the Western & Southern Open that saw her defeat Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka for the loss of just six games across both matches.
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While Raducanu is yet to win a second tour title following her historic achievement in Flushing Meadows, the reigning champion will head to the upcoming US Open with plenty of confidence after realising that she had still improved as a player in the year since.
“So I think I have improved actually as a player,” she added. “As I’m finding this sort of freedom in my swinging, I think that I achieved something great, of course, but I was playing completely free and I’m starting to do that again.”
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