AP

Analysis: Teen Slam champ Raducanu still winning, learning

Jan 17, 2022, 9:01 PM | Updated: Jan 18, 2022, 11:04 am

Emma Raducanu of Britain reacts after winning a point against Sloane Stephens of the U.S. in their ...

Emma Raducanu of Britain reacts after winning a point against Sloane Stephens of the U.S. in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

(AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)


              Iga Swiatek of Poland plays a forehand return to Harriet Dart of Britain during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
            
              Leylah Fernandez of Canada plays a backhand return to Maddison Inglis of Australia during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Simon Baker)
            
              Emma Raducanu of Britain plays a forehand return to Sloane Stephens of the U.S. during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
            
              Emma Raducanu, left, of Britain is congratulated by Sloane Stephens of the U.S. after winning their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
            
              Emma Raducanu of Britain reacts after defeating Sloane Stephens of the U.S. during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
            
              Emma Raducanu of Britain reacts after winning a point against Sloane Stephens of the U.S. in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

At this time two years ago, Emma Raducanu was participating in the Australian Open junior event — and losing in the first round.

A year ago, she was keeping tabs on Melbourne Park via TV, holed up at home in England, a teenager taking a break from the tour while studying for high school exams.

Look at her now. On Tuesday, Raducanu, still just 19, was on a show court at the year’s first Grand Slam tournament … as a reigning Grand Slam champion … facing a past Grand Slam champion … going three sets for the first time in a Grand Slam match … and pulling out the victory.

Everything has come dizzyingly quickly for someone who went from the qualifying rounds to the trophy at the U.S. Open four months ago, and yet she views herself as a work-in-progress who needs to keep building her game. If those on the outside are impatient and have outsized expectations, Raducanu sounds as if she understands the importance of taking things step by step.

“I think 2022 is all about learning for me,” she said after beating 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 in the Australian Open’s first round. “Being in those situations of, you know, winning a set and then having to fight in a decider is definitely all just accumulating into a bank of experience that I can tap into later on down the line.”

Remember: She had never even won a tour-level match before getting to the fourth round at Wimbledon in July. Then, at New York in September, Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a major championship and, at 18, the youngest female champ at a Slam since Maria Sharapova.

The player Raducanu beat in the U.S. Open final, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, also was a teenager, also was unheralded. On Tuesday, Fernandez also was in action; she lost 6-4, 6-2 to Maddison Inglis, an Australian wild-card recipient ranked 133rd.

Like Raducanu, Fernandez did not place too much stock in one outcome.

“One of those days,” Fernandez said. “Now it’s just: Get back on the practice court, get ready for the next tournament and the next match and see how it goes (at) the next Grand Slam.”

That sort of level-headed thinking is vital.

“The hardest part is trying to prove that you are good enough to be where you are or good enough to stay where you are,” said Stephens, who was 19 when she reached her first major semifinal and 24 when she claimed the title in New York.

“I was talking to someone in the locker room, and I’m like, ‘We’ll be here when she comes down’ — not Emma, but just in general,” Stephens said. “It all is like a cycle, and I think learning how to deal with it early on is the best way to handle it, just because there’s always a lot of ups and downs in tennis.”

Maybe that’s why some folks were surprised or, worse, worried when Raducanu was beaten 6-0, 6-1 at the Sydney International a week ago.

The takeaway should not have been concern. It should have been: So what?

That basically was Raducanu’s take, and she won 24 of 28 points in a 17-minute opening set Tuesday. Even more impressive was the way Raducanu put the second set behind her and dominated the third.

When it ended, Raducanu dropped her racket, doubled over and yanked at the brim of her visor with both hands. Stephens said the result was no big deal — the No. 17 seed defeating a foe ranked 67th — but Raducanu noted she’d never before won a match in this tournament.

So, yes, she should be excited. And, no, she was not going to dwell on that achievement.

“I’m just looking forward to building on this, going forward, trying to recover as best as I can for my next match,” said Raducanu, who split with her coach shortly after the U.S. Open and is now with Torben Beltz, former coach of three-time major champion Angelique Kerber.

He should be well-suited to navigating a Slam champion’s on-court and off-court journey.

Iga Swiatek can relate to where Raducanu is nowadays. Swiatek was 19 when she won the 2020 French Open for her first tour title.

“I’m not going to say that I wasn’t overwhelmed, because I was, for sure,” Swiatek said. “But having good people around me — like, trusting them that they’re going to lead me and guide me in a good way — that was really helpful.”

When she lost early in a 2021 warmup event, Swiatek spent the next five days bothered by this: “Hey, maybe it’s not working out. I’m thinking about the French Open. I’m having huge expectations.”

But when the Australian Open started, Swiatek said, “I came back to normal.”

She got to the fourth round — and made it at least that far at every Slam since, plus reached the Top 10.

That sort of steadiness of mind, more than of game, is what Raducanu and Fernandez should aspire to. They appear to be on that path.

___

AP Sports Writer John Pye in Melbourne, Australia, contributed.

___

Howard Fendrich covers tennis for The Associated Press. Follow him at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich or write to him at hfendrich@ap.org

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Analysis: Teen Slam champ Raducanu still winning, learning