Emma Raducanu made a strong start to her 2025 US Open campaign, but the 22-year-old Brit’s run ended with a chastening third round defeat to a hugely impressive Elena Rybakina.
No 9 seed Rybakina delivered a devastating display of big-hitting tennis to crush Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 in just an hour and three minutes in Louis Armstrong Stadium at Flushing Meadows.
The third round encounter promised to be a blockbuster given the form of Raducanu, who dropped only three games in each of her first two matches.
Raducanu’s first two opponents, Ena Shibahara and Janice Tjen, were ranked 128th and 149th respectively, and it proved to be a monumental step-up against Rybakina — who won Wimbledon in 2022.
The 2021 US Open winner pushed world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka hard in matches in Cincinnati and Wimbledon in the past two months, but she was never in this contest with the world No 10.
The world No 36 lost her serve twice in each set and did not create a single break point against the big-serving Rybakina, despite the 26-year-old Kazakh landing just 47% of her first serves.
In her on-court interview, Rybakina said: “Really happy with the performance, it’s not easy playing against Emma.
“Sometimes the score doesn’t show, but she’s a tough competitor.
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“I’m pretty happy with how I played today and I’m looking forward to the next match.
“Throughout the years, for some reason the US Open wasn’t successful for me. Hopefully that changes this year and I can go as far as possible.”
Speaking on Sky Sports, former British No 1 Laura Robson praised Rybakina while questioning Raducanu’s tactical inconsistency.
“Rybakina has played a great match there,” said the former world No 27.
“In terms of her groundstrokes, she was playing so freely, going for her shots. She was never rushed, that was the big thing that stood out.
“Raducanu wasn’t committed tactically. At times it looked like she was trying to hit big, but then the next point she’d take half a step back.
“It gave Rybakina this easy rhythm to work with, and she was just able to put so much pressure on Raducanu.”
Former world No 4 Tim Henman also gave his verdict: “Credit where credit is due: I thought Rybakina was outstanding from the word go.
“She came out with that aggressive ball-striking, which is her bread and butter. It’s why she is a Grand Slam champion.
“She really went after Raducanu’s serve, got that early break and the momentum just built and built. It was a very complete and consistent performance from Rybakina.”
Rybakina will play either Jasmine Paolini or Marketa Vondrousova in the fourth round.
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The post Emma Raducanu suffers brutal US Open loss to Elena Rybakina as Tim Henman and Laura Robson react appeared first on Tennis365.
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