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Expectations were rife from Emma Raducanu after she not only won the 2021 US Open but won it as an 18-year-old who did not drop a set across 10 matches, including the qualifying rounds, becoming the first qualifier, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title. The eyeballs on her after the incredible achievement created a lot of pressure, to say the least, at least in terms of on-court progress.
Raducanu was among the superstars in the draw each time she took to the court in 2022 and started the season inside the top 20 of the WTA rankings. The fact that the 19-year-old was still only in her first full season on the WTA tour was often neglected after what she achieved in New York in September last year.
The British teenager looked like a shadow of her best self at most tournaments this season, which was largely marred by injuries and a lot of uncertainty in her team, and both factors seemed to have played massive roles in defining her season. She ended her 2022 season still looking for a permanent coach after recently splitting with Dmitry Tursunov, her fourth different coach in two years and third since the US 2021 Open triumph.
When she found some momentum, injuries halted her progress more often than not, with Raducanu having retired midway through four different matches this season, one of those matches being the Korea Open semifinals against Jelena Ostapenko. The attention on her was at its peak at the Grand Slams, particularly in light of her free-flowing dominance at the 2021 US Open, but Raducanu lost in the second round at the Australian Open, the French Open, as well as Wimbledon, with each of those losses coming against opponents ranked much lower than her at the time.
Her US Open title defense had a promising build-up, but Raducanu bowed out in the opening round of the 2022 edition, which saw her drop more than 70 places in the rankings. However, Raducanu saw the positives in a difficult situation, suggesting that she was happy to start with a clean slate after all the hype until the US Open.
Wins against Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka among highlights of Emma Raducanu's 2022 season
While starting on a clean slate, Emma Raducanu could always use some of the positives from her first full season on the WTA tour. Despite her earlier-than-expected losses, Raducanu maintained her Top 20 ranking for the majority of the year, dropping outside the Top 80 only after she lost 2000 points at the US Open.
She can also boast of wins against former Grand Slam champions such as Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Sloane Stephens, among other strong opponents. In fact, she beat both Williams and Azarenka in straight sets, and also won a 6-0 set each in both matches, at the Cincinnati Open.
Her best result this season was a run to the semifinals of the Korea Open, other than two quarterfinal appearances at the Stuttgart Open and Citi Open, respectively.
Emma Raducanu gives "thumbs up to first year on tour" and shows optimism for road ahead
In her own assessment of the 2022 season, Emma Raducanu seems to have taken a mature approach in light of her challenges this season and the road ahead, starting with the 2023 season. The 19-year-old withdrew ahead of this week's Billie Jean King Cup Finals due to another injury, with her final match of the season coming at the AGEL Open in Ostrava in early October.
Raducanu believes everything she has experienced this season is all part of her unique journey as she is on her own route.
"That’s it 22! On my own route, it’s all part of this unique journey! Thumbs up to first year on tour," Emma Raducanu wrote on Twitter, and added a few pictures.
Emma Raducanu ended the 2022 season ranked No. 75 in the world, 56 spots below her year-end ranking in 2021. However, she achieved superstar status off the court, signing multiple endorsement deals and building many other partnerships, and was ranked the 12th most marketable athlete in the world in 2022.
