Sports
With her first round loss from the US Open now behind her, the 21-year-old, who three years ago at Flushing Meadows created one of the most amazing stories in tennis history, finds herself at a turning point in her career.
Let us begin this narrative by saying that the statements that follow are not intended to belittle a player who was visibly unhappy after losing to Sofia Kenin in the US Open’s first round on Tuesday.
The media is, in fact, totally focused on Raducanu succeeding in our sport because, should she vanish, it would mean the end of a player who has demonstrated the ability to connect with a wider audience than just tennis fans.
After Raducanu’s historic victory in New York in 2021, tennis received a major boost from females across the globe who were motivated by her incredible ascent to become A-list sponsors of a seemingly flawless young lady.
The tennis world has made an effort to support Raducanu despite her lack of results on the court over the past three years. Website traffic on her articles attests to the continued interest in a player who, since her breakthrough in New York, has failed to live up to expectations.
It seems as though this chapter of Raducanu’s story may be coming to an end as she broke down in tears during her most recent US Open news conference.
Following her withdrawal from the French Open qualification and subsequent rejection of the opportunity to compete in his first Olympic Games, Raducanu’s future has been hotly debated in recent weeks. She claimed she preferred to train for the US Open rather than travel to Paris.
That opinion would have been warranted if Raducanu had participated in a full schedule before leaving for New York, but her apparent unwillingness to participate in qualifying events ultimately led to her playing just one warm-up tournament in Washington.
She made the decision not to participate in the Toronto qualifying draw. According to sources in the UK media, the people in charge of “Brand Raducanu” were hesitant to expose their star to qualifying events because they thought it might damage her reputation.
The rumours gained momentum when Raducanu clarified that it wasn’t just her choice to withdraw from the qualifying events, saying, “It wasn’t just me.” More of a communal call was made, and that is what transpired. Really, I can’t change it.
After all, Raducanu attempted to utilise her first-round encounter against former Grand Slam winner Kenin as match practice. However, that strategy backfired as she looked terribly out of control, losing the first set 6-1 before losing the next three sets.
What will happen to Raducanu next?
The brutal truth must be that the world No. 72 is not the commercially desirable superstar she was in the days and weeks following her US Open victory. There have been speculations indicating that some of her lucrative endorsement deals come up for renewal shortly.
Raducanu needs to prove she is more than just a casual tennis player in order to stay in the public eye, and that can only happen if she participates in more competitions.
Her goal to compete in high-level events may not be feasible going ahead, but she is scheduled to play in an event in Seoul in the middle of September. She will also have the opportunity to play in other lower-level tournaments when the WTA Tour travels to China and Japan.
Although Raducanu maintains her insistence that she has no intention of playing a regular tournament schedule as long as she remains a professional tennis player, her wildcard opportunities have dried up as tournament administrators are no longer sure she is the draw she once was.
Earlier this week, Raducanu declared, “I don’t think I will ever be the player who is playing close to 30 events a year.”
It’s not, and never has been, my style. I would simply participate in a few events, play the slams, and attend school while I was playing juniors even.
It’s how I’ve kind of always done it. I participated in very few competitions that year, even after winning the US Open. Sure, they were nearer to one another.
“I’m not in a huge hurry to play a lot. I would prefer to focus on competitions and be prepared to compete in the ones in which I am registered.
Everyone in tennis would be happy to see a Raducanu comeback, but the player at the centre of this tale must decide if she is prepared to put in the time and effort necessary to play enough tennis to raise her ranking to a level where she can challenge the best players in the world.
The next step in Raducanu’s tennis career is entirely up to her; she cannot let sponsors, agents, or even the people closest to her dictate what follows next. In the past three years, the sport has moved on without Raducanu.
Raducanu’s career will simply not be able to advance if she doesn’t want to participate in more events, which may lead her to question if she even has a future in the game.
It sounds absurd to discuss retirement for a 21-year-old player with so much skill, yet there is a sporting tale that began like a fairytale and is currently in doubt.
