NEW YORK – Emma Raducanu struggled to hold back tears during the press conference following her defeat to Sofia Kenin, which ended with a score of 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday evening. With this loss, the 2021 champion remains without victories in the tournament since she won the title.

“I feel down. I feel sad,” said Raducanu, as she attempted to find the right words. “This is obviously a tournament that I really want to do well in.”

Three years ago, at the age of 18, Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. In 2022, she was eliminated in the first round by Alizé Cornet, and last year she had to withdraw from competition after undergoing surgery on both wrists and an ankle.

This time, Raducanu was outplayed by Kenin, the winner of the Australian Open in 2020. “I am mentally super strong, and I feel like I have always been,” said Kenin, who had lost six of her last seven matches prior to the U.S. Open. “I had confidence heading into today’s match, and of course, I believed I could win.” Kenin finished the match with 45 winners, nearly double Raducanu’s 24.

“She is a Slam champion for a reason… Credit to her,” Raducanu acknowledged, noting that she had not played a match since her defeat in Washington on August 2. The lack of match play could have been detrimental, but was a result of a “collective” decision from her team, explained Raducanu.

Her next tournament will be the Korea Open, starting in Seoul on September 16. “Until then, I will go back to the drawing board, train and analyze where I went wrong, and try to improve for the rest of the season,” Raducanu stated. “Obviously, the Slams are over for this year, but it’s actually not that long before Australia comes around again (at the start of the next season).”