Photo Credit: BBC
Emma Raducanu's clay-court form took a dive at the Madrid Open on Wednesday as the Brit exited the tournament after a first-round straight-sets defeat by world No 82 Maria Lourdes Carle.
Raducanu came into the contest on a high after winning four of her last five matches following excellent performances in the Billie Jean King Cup for Great Britain and the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
But the Briton complained of "feeling tired" in the build-up to Madrid and she went out at the first hurdle to Carle 6-2 6-2 on Pista Arantxa Sanchez.
"I'm going to recharge a bit," Raducanu said after her defeat. "From the performance today it was very clear that mentally and emotionally, I was exhausted. It's a shame, but I guess the sport is just pretty brutal."
Playing with strapping around the front of her left knee, the 2021 US Open champion was viewed as a strong favourite against qualifier Carle.
But the 21-year-old, who endured an injury-hit 2023, produced an error-strewn display on the clay, winning just 13/26 first serve points and 2/14 on her second serve.
But the 21-year-old, who endured an injury-hit 2023, produced an error-strewn display on the clay, winning just 13/26 first serve points and 2/14 on her second serve.
Carle, who beat a pair of Aussies - Taylah Preston and Astra Sharma - to reach her second-ever WTA 1000 main draw, broke Raducanu's serve six times to land her first WTA main-draw match win since 2022, and second-ever at a clay-court WTA event.
"I am a little bit shocked to be honest. The second set in particular, I just thought the body language from Emma was hard to understand," said former player Colin Fleming.
"Even the break points at 4-1, it wasn't impossible to come back with the skillsets of the two players, but there wasn't an ounce of body language that said 'I believe I can come back or want to come back. I don't think Emma gave it her all. She didn't compete, which was tough to watch. I have to say."
Raducanu's early exit has brought sadness to us as her fans.
Lewis Musonye
