British tennis ace Emma Raducanu failed to make it to the main draw of the Madrid Open as she was defeated in the very first round of the qualifiers. Raducanu lost 6-2, 6-2 to Maria Lourdes Carle, an Argentinian qualifier. This defeat attracted criticism for the 2021 US Open champion and eventually, she had to explain her loss.
Raducanu explained the reason behind her crushing defeat to Carle. The Briton claimed that it is not easy performing day in and day out while playing across tournaments and under different conditions. Raducanu said that she felt exhausted and resultantly lost the match.
Emma Raducanu (Image via IMAGO)
The 21-year-old also credited her opponent’s experience on the clay court as one of the reasons for her defeat. Raducanu further claimed that it was too much for her to take having played in back-to-back tournaments. The Briton listed the tournaments she played before coming to Madrid and claimed that the “last few weeks have been a lot” for her.
The last few weeks have been a lot. Starting from the Billie Jean King Cup, I haven’t stopped. It’s just been back-to-back and I was very happy being able to help carry the team in the BJK Cup, then straight to Stuttgart with no rest, then straight here and trying to adapt to the conditions which are very different because it’s outdoors and I was playing indoors for the last month. Many factors have made it very difficult to fully compete today but overall I’ve been playing pretty well.Emma Raducanu explained. (H/T: The Guardian)
Emma Raducanu wants to take some rest as she feels exhausted
After failing to make the most of the opportunity presented to her in the form of a wildcard entry, Emma Raducanu says that she wants to take some rest as she feels exhausted. The 21-year-old said that she was pushing through at tournaments and it is reflected in her performance.
She further said that while she was feeling good on the court earlier, Raducanu feels exhausted now. Hence, she will take some rest before she plans the rest of the tour.
I think from the performance today it was very clear that mentally and emotionally I was exhausted. I was trying to push through. I was pushing through Stuttgart and was just unable to push through today. So yeah, it’s a shame that I was feeling so good on the court and today happened, but I guess this sport is just pretty brutal.Emma Raducanu said.
Notably, Emma Raducanu had arrived in Madrid having led Great Britain to victory over France in the Billie Jean King Cup before reaching the quarter-final in Stuttgart, a WTA 500 event, only losing in two tight sets to Iga Swiatek, the world No 1. However, she could not hold the fort in the Madrid Open Qualifiers.
