US OPEN

August 29, 2025

Emma Raducanu

Press Conference

E. RYBAKINA/E. Raducanu

6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What's the emotion? How are you feeling? Obviously your opponent played very well. How do you feel you played?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, difficult. I thought Elena played very well, and I found it very difficult to get any sort of rhythm in the match.

So when I did have a ball, it was kind of hard for me to all of a sudden, you know, like hit a quality shot, because so many of them were so deep or I didn't touch that many either. So it was just hard to really capitalize on the few moments that I had.

But credit to her. She played a very good match.

Q. Is there anything that you feel you could have done better?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think maybe if I held in the first game of the second set, but being 40-Love up, I mean, I missed a couple of shots that I probably wouldn't usually miss. But at the same time, I just felt like every ball was so difficult that I was receiving. Yeah, then I was kind of shocked when I got a shorter ball.

So it was difficult, but otherwise, I thought I tried to mix it up with my return position. I thought overall, yeah, she served well, returned well, and did a lot well.

Q. I wonder how you evaluate your Grand Slam here as a whole. You've only lost to elite players. Does that kind of give you encouragement in some ways, or is that kind of a frustration or something to work towards?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I would say it's a goal for sure and a target. Yeah, I've lost to Iga twice, Aryna, and Elena, so it's tough.

But at the same time, that's where I'm at with my ranking. I can play top opponents in the first, second, or third round. So I've just got to do my best in the next few months until Australia to just keep working to try and close the gap.

I think depending on the day, depending on how we match up, I think I'm getting better overall. I think I'm improving for sure in the last few months. So I just need to keep consistent and put this one behind.

Q. Just on that, kind of how important is it not to sort of overthink this match, if you know what I mean, and to try and reflect that your trajectory is positive?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, it's going to be important. I think it's going to be important to just look at the last few months as a whole, last few weeks as a whole and the improvements that I'm making, because a match like that can easily kind of get you down if you let it. So I'm going to try and not do that and regroup and just work hard and, yeah, get ready for Asia.

Q. Can you just confirm how long your agreement with Francis is as your coach, and how important is it that you would like to see him stay with you long-term, as you say, to close this gap on these big players?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, right now we're working through to the end of the year. I'm looking forward to just getting back to work really. It's only been three weeks, but I think it's been a pretty successful three weeks in a sense that we've made good improvements.

I think there are certain parts of my game which have gotten better for sure. Today, you know, my weaknesses were highlighted, but I think it's only been three weeks, and he can't really work miracles, you know.

So I know we're doing good work, and I just look forward to continuing.

Q. The big players in the Grand Slam, what's the biggest difference? How do you feel the biggest difference is with these guys at the very top and to everyone else that can compete and beat week to week?

EMMA RADUCANU: To be honest, I think when these top players are playing really well, it's difficult. I think every time I've played Iga and Elena, they've played unbelievable. So I think that's difficult for sure to play against.

I think when you're playing Elena, she has a great serve, of course. Second serve coming in quick and high as well. Return comes back faster. Like you've barely landed from your serve, and it's back on the baseline.

Then, yeah, the ball just comes through really, really fast, and you feel like you just don't really have any time, you know, to create anything, so it's just constant pressure.

Then I think when you feel in that way a shorter ball or a ball that is usually normal for you, you feel more pressure to kind of execute, and then that's when you maybe make some errors that you don't. So I think that's probably the biggest tell.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about the Asian swing coming up. You haven't had a proper crack at that in the last couple of years. How excited are you to be able to play those tournaments in the condition and the state that you're in?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I'm looking forward to just building day by day. You know, I think you take a few steps forward, one step back, but I think overall I'm working and building towards good things.

I think I'm just enjoying my tennis for the most part. Tough to enjoy today, but I think in the big scheme of things I'm working towards playing better and being a better tennis player, more complete overall, and looking forward to going back to Asia. I've never really played an Asia swing, so I hope this year I'll be able to.

Yeah, it's not that long until the swing starts, but I'm looking forward to getting back at it.

Q. Just going back to the match, you mentioned that Rybakina didn't let you settle into any sort of rhythm. I was wondering if that was specific to when you felt you were serving and when you were returning or just overall in the match as a whole?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I don't think it really mattered. I think today overall she just didn't let me settle in in every department.

I think early on, you know, off some really good serves of mine, the ball came back really quick, and that's just early pressure. One break and then all of a sudden it's 3-Love, and the dynamic of the match just shifts, and you feel you're under pressure straight away.

So I thought she, yeah, did everything better today.

Q. What have you learned during the past year about staying healthy and avoiding injury, and how do you sort of balance that with what I imagine is like a certain urgency to have matches, get rankings points, get your ranking up so you're not playing these top-level players in the first three rounds?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I think with me I want to train, like, a lot, and I practice quite a lot of hours, but I think at the same time it can put a lot of wear on my body. So I think now I'm doing a good job. Pretty strong and fit overall for the most part. I'm not getting injured.

But that's where I need to be reined in, and I need the people around me to kind of pull me back and say, We've done enough. That's how I kind of manage my load, because I always want to do more and practice more and play and compete more too.

Q. You mentioned that the top players, when you've played them, they've played really well against you. Given that you are obviously building your ranking and trying to kind of permanently establish yourself at the top of the game, do you feel like you kind of like at the same time have a target on your back because of your history that when they play against you, they're to play their best tennis?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, big time. I think when the very top play against me, they have a point to prove that they're at the top, and they're there for a reason. I think every time I've played one, they've kind of shown that.

So I think at the same time while I'm improving, doing better, gaining maybe some more respect around, I think yeah, the top have definitely raised their game.

But I'll take that as a compliment that they've decided to really lock in against me, but at the same time it does show I have a lot more work to do.