Emma Raducanu discovered the silver lining in her shock defeat within the second spherical of the Australian Open, when she was suffered a loss to world No. 98 Danka Kovinic.
The 19-year-old British sensation struggled to play with a blister on her dominant proper hand, which affected Raducanu’s potential to hit her traditional forehand.
“I did uncover parts of my recreation I didn’t know I had earlier than, and I can use that going ahead,” mentioned Raducanu after her exit on the Australian Open, per The Guardian.
“And in addition I simply know that I’ve bought that combat in me. Even when I've, like, one shot, I do know that I can pull myself out of deep conditions. As a result of I’m nonetheless younger, I really feel like I can study a backhand, I can study some ways, however it’s fairly arduous to study or train somebody that combat and grittiness to hold in there when issues are just about all in opposition to you. So I’m fairly happy with that.”
Kovinic, in the meantime, beat Raducanu in three units (6-4, 4-6, 6-3), marking the primary time a participant from Montenegro has reached the third spherical of any Grand Slam.
Raducanu obtained therapy a number of occasions all through the match for her blister — one thing she mentioned she was coping with whereas coaching in latest weeks. She beforehand missed a number of weeks of coaching forward of the Australian Open attributable to a bout with COVID-19.
“That thought once I was slicing forehands and actually struggling, I used to be, like, ‘Do I [retire]?’ However I didn’t need to — as I mentioned, some individuals in my staff didn’t need me to even go on the market,” she mentioned.
“So I fought so arduous simply to return out to Australia and play right here, and I didn’t need to exit like that. So I simply left all of it out on the court docket after the whole lot I went via.”
Raducanu defeated former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens within the first spherical.
Raducanu rose to fame after her historic U.S. Open victory in September, when she beat fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez, 6-4, 6-3, to deliver residence Britain’s first ladies’s Grand Slam singles championship in 44 years.
On the time, she climbed the tennis rankings from No. 336 on the earth to No. 150, and her social media following soared. The teenager additionally landed a fashionably sporty unfold within the September 2021 situation of British Vogue.
Raducanu beforehand mentioned her preliminary purpose was to advance within the U.S. Open, so she may exchange a misplaced pair of AirPods.
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