Emma Raducanu Confesses Biggest Mistake Against Elena Rybakina After US Open Exit

Emma Raducanu had put the US Open crisis of the last 3 years behind her by making it past the first round. With her new coach, Francisco Roig, she was hoping to achieve another milestone. But reality check came in the third round in the form of Elena Rybakina, a former Wimbledon champion. A straight set 6-1, 6-2 defeat brought the Grand Slam journey for the season to a close for the 22-year-old. And the young Brit got candid about a few things that may have gone wrong in the match against the World No. 9.

In the post-match presser, which was uploaded to YouTube’s US Open Tennis Channel on August 29, Raducanu spoke about the positives and negatives from the match. As for the negative, she plainly confessed, “You know, my weaknesses were highlighted.” Well, playing against the best in the circuit can do that. And Emma Raducanu has had the bad luck of coming up against the best on the court, while they bring their best every time against her.

Rybakina is a big hitter who brings power and precision to the court. Just a high-quality tennis player, also an Australian Open finalist. “When you’re playing Elena, she has a great serve, of course. Second serve coming in quick and high as well. Return comes back faster, like you’ve barely landed from your serve, and it’s back on the baseline.”

So simply put, but so accurate in how a champion with strong basics operates. She further spoke about her difficulty in coping with Rybakina’s quality return game. “The ball just comes through really, really fast, you feel like you just don’t really have any time, you know, to create anything. So it’s just constant pressure.” And this is where Raducanu fumbled. “I think when, you know, you feel in that way, a shorter ball or a ball that is usually normal for you, you feel more pressure to kind of execute, and then that’s when you maybe make some errors that you don’t. I think that’s probably the biggest tell.” Well, errors she made.

Image Credits: Elena Rybakina/Instagram

The match ended with 18 unforced errors for the World No. 36, but the pressure also probably got to her. Her 2nd serve win percentage reads 29%. No double faults, but clearly her shots weren’t good enough. But the stats also show another crucial element. Rybakina hit 23 winners to Raducanu’s 8. The total points won were skewed in favor of Rybakina, 56 to 35. As Emma Raducanu was admitted, unfortunately, Elena Rybakina brought her top game to the 3rd round clash. Now, Raducanu goes back to the drawing board. She has recently made a big change to her circle with one objective.

Emma Raducanu’s plans with ex-Rafael Nadal coach

57-year-old Francisco Roig came on board her team just before Cincinnati. Her 2025 season had been a stark improvement over the previous years. Quarter-final runs in Miami and the HSBC Championships in London, reaching the R16 in Rome, she did show marked improvement under previous coach Mark Petchey. But his commentary work made this arrangement with Raducanu a temporary one.

Well, it would also be a bit of a concern that her linkup with Roig is reportedly not long-term, as he is only supposed to guide her only till the end of this season for the time being. But maybe she needs more time than that. With him, there has been a marked improvement in her game. In Cincinnati, she made short work of Olga Danilovic and managed to push world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to her limit. What’s the secret?

Emma Raducanu practices with coach Francisco Roig 2025 US Open, Day Three, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York, USA – 26 Aug 2025New York USTA Billie Jean King National T New York NY United States of America PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxGRExMLTxCYPxROUxBULxUAExKSAxCHNxDENxINDxITAxPORxESPxSWExTURxMEXxCOLxVENxPERxECUxBRAxARGxCHIxURUxPARxPANxONLY Copyright: xJavierxGarcia/Shutterstockx 15451865ae

First of all, Francisco Roig, for those who don’t know, was in the Rafael Nadal corner when the Spaniard won his Grand Slams. All 22 of them, and Roig was there, perfecting Nadal’s game and adding his expert diagnosis. Now, he has to do his magic on Raducanu.

A guy known for perfecting the technical side of the game would make Raducanu a better player long-term. And he has already started doing that, while keeping it fun and relaxed on court. Markedly, he has also helped Raducanu with moving her away from chasing perfection. That got her playing with a lot of clarity and freedom.

And the big objective for now is top-10. “I think to really take a step to be beating or making it close with the top ten consistently, I need to be doing the things I’m doing with Francis now and I think he can really help get me towards that,” Raducanu said. “We’ve only had a few weeks together, so I don’t know if it will come this week, but I do believe that over time we will get there.”

Well, it’s a good thing Elena Rybakina brought her top game. Emma Raducanu now knows what distance she has to cover to reclaim the Grand Slam glory she made her own when she was just 18. That was a US Open, too. For now, keep updated with the latest twists and turns from the Flushing Meadows with EssentiallySports’ minute-by-minute live blog.

 

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