So soon after such a crushing defeat, Emma Raducanu was not quite ready to reflect on the positive aspects of her performance. Her eyes were red and still watering. Every thought she articulated was punctuated by a deep sigh.
As she looked back to her tussle with Aryna Sabalenka on a Centre Court as loud as it has been for a decade, all the 22-year-old could think about were the opportunities she had squandered: “It’s better for me to feel a bit of the pain and then process it,” she said.
