Emma Raducanu suffered a surprising loss at the 2024 Eastbourne International recently, but she refused to blame fatigue for the loss.
In her first two matches at the WTA 500 event, Raducanu looked really strong in Eastbourne, beating experienced veterans Sloane Stephens and Jessica Pegula. The win over Pegula was particularly impressive because the American had been playing really strong tennis lately.
She won in Berlin but couldn't overcome Raducanu in a match that lasted well over two hours. The following day, the Brit faced Daria Kasatkina and lost 2-6, 2-6 in a bizarre match in which she struggled with the wind.
After the match, Raducanu admitted that it was not an overly upsetting loss because now she could go back home to London and prepare better for Wimbledon. She later followed that up by admitting she wasn't tired.
She simply didn't deal well with the circumstances and was very rigid in her approach, never trying something else when things clearly didn't work out.
"I wasn’t tired at all. I was feeling really good. I think I just dealt with the circumstances badly. Yeah, was very inflexible in my approach. Like, that’s my honest reflection of the match. But physically I’m in a really good spot, and yeah, I could easily go and train now or train tomorrow."
It's good to hear that Raducanu is feeling physically fine because her result at Wimbledon will mostly come down to her body holding up. Her tennis is pretty good right now; the level is there, the confidence on grass was never a problem, and ultimately, it's about remaining healthy.
That was her main takeaway from the week in Eastbourne: she got through three matches and felt really good afterward.
"I’m pleased to have had three matches. I think it builds towards my match fitness, builds towards my bank of experience playing in all sorts of conditions, I would say. I think today especially it was very difficult, and I just didn’t handle it very well. I’d say, yeah, I think I just need to learn to be more willing to adapt."
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