The Australian Open has misplaced one other large identify: Emma Raducanu.
The well-liked British tennis participant misplaced 6-3 7-6 to American Coco Gauff on Wednesday evening within the second spherical of the match.
It is one other to the Australian Open, which loves Raducanu as she is well-liked and marketable.
This yr, the match rolled out a promotional video that includes the 20-year-old strolling alongside Elwood Beach.
“I love coming back to Australia, I feel there is such a good energy here. And I think there is great banter. The coffee is unbelievable,” she stated within the video.
On her personal Instagram, she has 2.5 million followers.
Raducanu’s loss got here simply hours after Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who gained the boys’s singles title final yr, was additionally knocked out of the match.
The pair be a part of an inventory of fan favourites and large names not within the competitors.
Just two days earlier than, Australian Nick Kyrgios pulled out out of the blue with a knee damage.
The AO additionally misplaced Aussie star Ash Barty this yr, who has retired, and Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who’s pregnant.
Less than a fortnight earlier than the match started, Venus Williams pulled out resulting from an damage she sustained in Auckland, New Zealand.
It’s a giant blow to the AO as they’re all names intently linked to the game and are sometimes identified by those that solely look after tennis yearly in the course of the house match.
Raducanu stunned to have the ability to play in any respect
Raducanu suffered an ankle damage forward of the Australian Open and after her loss on Wednesday, the previous US Open champion admitted she had had little or no follow time.
“I would say, like, all the chips were against us, and the chances of me playing this tournament were very, very low,” she stated in a press convention.
“So I had extremely limited practice time, and I think I can say that now I’m not, like, competing anymore.
“But, yeah, it was obviously going to be a push to get me on the court. I think 13 days ago if you would have told us, like, ‘hey, you’re going to be in the draw and win a round’, it would have been a massive effort for sure.
“Saying that, I still think I didn’t necessarily play my best today.”
She added that she want to play Gauff once more, “with more than five hours under my belt of practice”.
Raducanu stated within the ten days earlier than the match, her crew did all the pieces they might to get her on the court docket.
“And day one I was in crutches and doing pool rehab,” she laughed.
“To get onto the court from there has been a massive effort.”
