Raducanu eliminated, Osaka advances in US Open first round
Emma Raducanu was making just her second US Open appearance since winning the title in 2021. Getty Images
Emily Salley, August 28 — 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.
"It was a rollercoaster match," Kenin said afterwards.
"Emma is such a tough player and she played some great tennis. I'm just super happy to have won."
Like Raducanu, Kenin has struggled for form since winning her maiden major in Melbourne and reaching the final of the French Open in the same year.
She will face either title contender Jessica Pegula or Shelby Rogers in an all-American second round meeting.
After fending off two break points in the first game, Raducanu's serve was constantly under pressure from Kenin, who reeled off five games in a row to take the opening set.
Raducanu made a statement by breaking early in the second with a series of bruising forehand winners, but Kenin responded immediately to level at 1-1.
As the British number two grew into the match, Kenin's frustrations came to the fore and she angrily swiped a ball away right before Raducanu broke for a 3-2 lead.
Raducanu struck again at 5-3 to force a decider and made a confident start to the third set while her opponent's unforced error count mounted.
Yet it was the American who made the first breakthrough and, after being just two points away from victory on Raducanu's serve, Kenin closed out the win on her first match point.
"It was super close - the third set, I feel like it could have gone either way. I tried to handle my nerves," Kenin said.
Naomi Osaka made a triumphant US Open return
Naomi Osaka beat Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final to lift her first Grand Slam trophy. Getty Images
An emotional Naomi Osaka made a triumphant US Open return by beating Jelena Ostapenko in a blockbuster first-round match.
Japan's Osaka is a two-time champion at Flushing Meadows, winning the first of her four Grand Slam titles in New York in 2018 and repeating the feat in 2020.
She missed last year's tournament after giving birth to daughter Shai but watched from the crowd, which reignited her desire to compete.
The former world number one faced a tough task against Latvian 10th seed Ostapenko, but came through 6-3 6-2 in just 63 minutes.
Osaka covered her face with her towel as she cried tears of joy and relief after the win, and became emotional again in her on-court interview.
"I was trying not to cry when I was walking out," the 26-year-old said.
"I remember last year I was watching Coco [Gauff] play and I so badly wanted to step on these courts again.
"I didn't know if I could - athletically, physically, if I was able to. Just to play this match and be in this atmosphere means so much to me, so thank you."
Victory over Ostapenko was Osaka's first against a top-10 player for four years.
Osaka, who also won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, spoke before the US Open about not feeling "like I'm in my body" since her return from maternity leave.
She gave birth to daughter Shai in July 2023 and returned to the WTA Tour in January.
Although she has had some notable performances - including coming within touching distance of beating eventual champion Iga Swiatek at the French Open - she has not gone beyond the quarter-finals of any event.
She also has a tough draw in New York, with former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova awaiting in the second round.
Asked about her goals for the tournament, Osaka said: "Keep focusing, keep trying to play really well, but overall have a lot of fun.
"Last night my daughter didn't want to go to sleep on her bed time, so I had to hold her for quite a while and I was thinking: Oh wow, she really picked the perfect day not to go to sleep.
"Moments like that are so precious to me and I can only hope I keep having more."
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