Former champion Emma Raducanu is out of the US Open after losing a “rollercoaster” first-round match to Sofia Kenin.
Britain’s Raducanu was searching for her first victory in New York since unexpectedly winning the title in 2021 as a teenage qualifier.
She lost in the first round the following year and missed the 2023 tournament as she recovered from wrist and ankle operations.
Raducanu’s wait for another win at Flushing Meadows continues after she lost 6-1 3-6 6-4 to fellow Grand Slam champion Kenin.
Kenin, who won the Australian Open in 2020, was on the back foot early in the deciding set but it was Raducanu who faltered, dropping serve at 2-2 before Kenin saw out victory.
She skipped the clay-court French Open to focus on being fit for the British grass season – a decision that seemed to have paid off when she made an impressive run to the fourth round of Wimbledon in July.
However, the 21-year-old played just one tournament in the six weeks between Wimbledon and the US Open, reaching the quarter-finals in Washington in early August.
Having opted to miss this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, Raducanu also missed two WTA 1,000 events in the lead-up to the US Open.
She said the turnaround for Toronto qualifying was “too tight”, while a wildcard for Cincinnati was not forthcoming and the world number 71 did not enter qualifying.
