British No.1 and US Open defending champion, Emma Raducanu, has been knocked out by French player Alize Cornet. Raducanu is the third defending champion in US Open history to be knocked out in the first round.
Alize Cornet, who is competing in her 63rd consecutive grand slam event, took home a 6-3 6-3 victory and is off to the next round to play Katerina Siniakova tomorrow. Cornet, who has hinted at potentially retiring at the end of this year, has had one of her best seasons yet and is ranked just outside the seedings at number 40.
Raducanu commented afterwards “Obviously, it’s really disappointing, I’m really sad to leave here. It’s probably my favourite tournament."
“In a way, I’m happy because it’s a clean slate. The target will be off my back,” in reference to her struggles with the pressure of being the defending champion.
We believe in you @EmmaRaducanu #BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/JaAieNd8gZ
— LTA (@the_LTA) August 31, 2022
Naomi Osaka has also made an early exit after losing 7-6 6-3 to Americas Danielle Collins, who was runner-up in this year's Australian Open.
Collins faced significant resistance from Osaka, but ultimately Osaka was unable to hold her ground consistently and Collins snatched the win.
She stated in an interview afterwards that “I tried as hard as I could. I wanted to play without my back being in pain. I only really started serving two days ago,” making for a difficult season.
Danielle Collins defeats Naomi Osaka in straight sets to advance to the @usopen second roundpic.twitter.com/nseU4k7Adr
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 31, 2022
Venus Williams was also an early knock out as she was defeated 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) by Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck, falling to the world's 49th ranked player.
Unlike her younger sister, Venus has not displayed an intention to retire, she explained her desire to keep playing coming from “Three letters is W-I-N. That’s it. Very simple”.
However, this tournament is not over so soon for the former world No.1 as Venus is due to play doubles alongside her sister Serena Williams. The sisters take on Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic on September 1st.
“It was Serena’s idea. She’s the boss” 😂
- Venus Williams when asked whose idea it was to play doubles with her sister Serena. pic.twitter.com/LU3cSf4LDR— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 30, 2022
