Emma Raducanu got back to winning ways at the Slovenia Open, but her match against Dayana Yastremska ended unexpectedly.
Raducanu accepted a wild card into the tournament in Portoroz to try to find form again. She is the No. 1 seed at the tournament and one of the favorites to win the WTA 250 event.
The Briton's last appearance before the Slovenia Open was the US Open. She was the defending champion after a historic run to the title at Flushing Meadows last year, not dropping a set in any of her matches.
Raducanu is still just 19 years old, and handling the pressure of being the reigning champion seemed to weigh on her. She was easily beaten in the opening round by Alize Cornet, who also defeated Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon.
Much of 2022 has been a struggle for Raducanu, and the media attention on her since winning the US Open may have played a role in that. However, Judy Murray thinks the young star's first-round loss in New York this year could be the making of her.
Raducanu faced the hard-hitting Dayana Yastremska in the opening round. The Ukrainian can compete against most players when near her best, but she struggled throughout the contest.
The No. 1 seed dominated throughout the match. She took the opening set 6-2 and was two points away from victory at 5-3 30-0 up in the second when Yastremska retired with an injury.
Although fans were shocked to see Yastremska retire so abruptly, Raducanu was happy with her performance and expressed sadness about the match ending with a retirement.
“Nobody wants to win due to a retirement. Dayana is an extremely ferocious competitor. So I knew it was going to be a tough match going in. I'm really happy with the way that I stayed in the points and was fighting the whole way through. So I’m happy to be into the next round.”