"Really disappointing but in a way happy, the target will be off my back" - Emma Raducanu on early exit from 2022 US Open

While disappointed at exiting the 2022 US Open in the first round, Emma Raducanu is also looking to take the positives from the outcome. The World No. 11, who is expected to drop out of the top 80 in the WTA rankings, is looking forward to building her way up once again as she believes that the world's attention will now move away from her.

The 19-year-old started on the back foot in her first-round contest against Alize Cornet in New York. After having her serve broken three times in the first set, a seventh break of the match took Cornet into the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 win.

Speaking at her post-match press conference, the Brit stated that she's sad to have lost her match as the US Open was her favorite tournament. However, she's also looking forward to fighting her way up the rankings once again.

"Well, I mean, obviously really disappointing, really sad to leave here. It's probably my favorite tournament. But also, I mean, in a way happy because it's a clean slate. I'm going to drop down the rankings. Climb my way back up," Raducanu said.

"In a way the target will be off my back slightly. Yeah, I just have another chance to claw my way back up there. I've been doing some really good work in the last six weeks especially. Yeah, just looking forward to kind of putting more of those weeks together consistently, then we'll see what happens," she added.

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"The most important thing for me is just consistency of these weeks, of training, of competing" - Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu in action at the 2022 US Open.

Emma Raducanu, the British No. 1, will not remain her country's top-ranked player if Harriet Dart wins her second-round match against Dalma Galfi. Since her US Open win last year, she has a modest 15-19 win-loss record.

However, it's too early to pick after her game as she hasn't spent much time on the tour yet. She competed in her first WTA main-draw match less than 15 months ago, when she was ranked No. 366 in the world and received a wildcard at the Nottingham Open.

Reflecting on the changes she needs to make to address her early defeat and fight her way back up the rankings, Raducanu stated that she needs to be more consistent - in training and competing.

"I'd say just putting consistent weeks together. If I look at how much tennis I played this year, or training I've done, it's very, very minimal. We, like, actually counted the days. From, like, Rome to a bit after Wimbledon, I only played tennis for, like, 14 days in two months and a half or something. It was pretty wild," she stated.

"But, as I said, six weeks of training, already feel like I'm so much better as a player. I definitely feel like I am growing in confidence. I think the most important thing for me is just consistency of these weeks, of training, of competing. You lose a match, you're on the practice court like two days later or something. It's just not having these big chunks of gaps," she added.

Also Checkout:- US Open 2022 Schedule