Emma Raducanu has been deservedly showered in praise despite her Wimbledon exit last night to Aryna Sabalenka.
The 22-year-old went into the clash with few expectations, as the overwhelming underdog.
After all, she was facing the world number one, and many people’s favourite to win the entire event.
And yet, it could be argued that Emma Raducanu was good value to have at least taken a set, having been a break up in the first and second set, yet conspired to lose them both.
The nature of this loss will be tough to take given the opportunities she had, but there are so many positives to be taken from a stunning week on the grass.
Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon performance vs Aryna Sabalenka rated
Seeking to review an epic day of Wimbledon action on The Tennis Podcast, it was Catherine Whitaker, the host, who was keen to praise Raducanu’s battling loss to Aryna Sabalenka.
Inspired by what was a really tight affair against the undisputed best player in the world, the pundit suggested that the British number one is not as far away from these elite stars as some might think.
But, to bridge the gap, Whitaker suggested: ‘I do feel like, look, she’s never going to be, nor should she try to be Aryna Sabalenka in terms of the power.
‘She has attributes that Aryna Sabalenka doesn’t have in terms of her dexterity and her fleet of foot around the court. But if she could just add an extra 10% power to her groundstrokes, just to hang with it a bit more.
‘You both feel that’s doable? I feel like that could make the difference with the step up.’
Matt Roberts would then chime in, suggesting: ‘Yeah, look, how doable all that is, because I would have thought that she’s been trying to do that, you know? It seems a fairly obvious gap in her game, certainly when she comes up against the very, very best players.
‘And there was a period in that first set where I felt like she did start to try and hit out a little bit more, but she was often overhitting.
‘And I think there was a little run there where Sabalenka won maybe nine points out of ten. I think a lot of those were Raducanu, just ever so slightly overhitting, almost like feeling like she had to go over.’
Nick Kyrgios revealed just how good Sabalenka really is earlier this week, and if anyone didn’t know before her match with Raducanu, they certainly will now.
Emma Raducanu’s reaction to losing to Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon
Speaking in her press conference after the match, whilst Raducanu was clearly emotional, there were suggestions that she felt proud after such a performance.
She would state as much in her assessment of the match, admitting: ‘It’s hard to take a loss like that. At the same time, I’m playing Aryna, who is a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today.’
Having beaten the 2023 Wimbledon champion in round two, as she swept aside Marketa Vondrousova, and now pushed Sabalenka to the brink, Raducanu’s level has undeniably improved.
Her partnership with Mark Petchey is undoubtedly working wonders in progressing her career after many years of fitness struggles and stagnation. Hopefully, they can continue this upward trend and turn Raducanu into a consistent force on the WTA tour at last.
