Emma Raducanu will re-evaluate her game after a second-round Australian Open loss, admitting a misalignment with her desired playing style.
MELBOURNE: Emma Raducanu says she will take time to “re-evaluate” her game following a flat second-round exit at the Australian Open.
The 28th seed suffered a sluggish 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 loss to Austria’s Anastasia Potapova at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
Raducanu admitted she never felt comfortable on court against the 55th-ranked opponent, despite leading 5-3 in the first set.
“Just one of those days you don’t feel too good on the court,” said the 23-year-old Briton, who has been managing a foot injury.
The defeat ended her chance to test herself against world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the next round.
Raducanu, who won the US Open as a qualifier in 2021, has not clinched a tour title since and has struggled for consistency.
She has had a low-key start to the year, also losing early in warm-up events.
“I don’t want to give myself too much of a hard time because I know my preparation going into this tournament,” she said.
“I kind of have to leave with my head held high because of the matches I’ve had here.”
Despite searching for positives, Raducanu confirmed she will take a break before reassessing her approach.
“I think I’m going to take a few days, get back, get back home, and try and just re-evaluate my game a bit,” she stated.
Pushed on what she meant, Raducanu admitted a disconnect between her current and desired style of play.
“Yeah, I would say so. I think I want to be playing a different way,” she explained.
“And I think the misalignment with how I’m playing right now and how I want to be playing is something that I just want to work on.”
