Emma Raducanu’s US Open title defence ended at the first hurdle with a nightmare straight-sets loss to wily Frenchwoman Alize Cornet at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Raducanu did not drop a set in 10 matches last year but she was error-prone on a windy New York evening and fell to a 6-3 6-3 defeat.
The 19-year-old’s ranking will now plummet to around the 80 mark but, after a year that has been far from easy, she may feel a sense of relief that this moment is over and she can seek to build more solid foundations for her tennis career.
The fans that were inside a sparsely populated Louis Armstrong Stadium gave Raducanu a hearty reception as they welcomed back their most unlikely of champions.
Virginia Wade, who watched Raducanu’s success last year with astonishment, was back courtside while the major difference in the Kent teenager’s support camp now is the presence of Russian Dmitry Tursunov, who she is trialling as she looks for a permanent coach.