Wimbledon has made Emma Raducanu hungry for more success after her run to the fourth round.
Raducanu’s exit to qualifier Lulu Sun on Sunday ended British singles interest at the All England Club for this year, but matched her best campaign to date at her home Grand Slam.
It also catapulted her up the world rankings going into the US hard-court segment of the season, with Raducanu now believing she can make her mark in the latter part of 2024.
“Six months ago when I was starting out after surgery, I would have signed for fourth round at Wimbledon,” she said.
“Of course, I’m disappointed. Of course, I want more. I think everything does happen for a reason.
“It just fuels the fire and makes me more hungry. I think that desire and fire is back. I just want to keep building on that.”
Having beaten No9 seed Maria Sakkari in the previous round, there had been high hopes that Raducanu would overcome the lowly-ranked Sun and book her place in the quarter-finals.
But she struggled in the opening set, fought back to level the match in the second and then took a nasty fall early in the third and needed a medical timeout.
While she recovered physically to get back into the match, she was overpowered by her opponent’s relentlessly aggressive approach in a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 defeat.
Despite her exit, the 21-year-said she believed she had improved as a player over the grass-court swing, which also included reaching the semi-finals at Nottingham earlier in the summer and beating No2 seed Jessica Pegula in Eastbourne.
“There are areas I need to keep improving, but I think certain things I have been doing better over the grass-court season,” she said.
“I think I improved a few things. My serve got better. I just need to work on the consistency of it, being good every day, not just some days.
“Honestly, it makes me more determined. I think I really put myself first in the last few weeks, few months. Tennis is the only thing that is occupying my time, my mind. It’s all I want to do really.
“I feel good about things going forward. I feel optimistic. I think that today – as bitter as it is to take – I think it happened for a reason. You don’t want things to happen too easily and too quickly.
“Well, I had that before. I don’t necessarily want just a massive spike.”
Raducanu now plans to take a few days to rest in the aftermath of Wimbledon after a sore back and stiffness in her wrist, which caused her to pull out of her mixed doubles partnership with Andy Murray.
She insisted she had no regrets about her decision to withdraw, saying the singles had always been her priority - plus that she had not expected such a long run at Wimbledon this year on her return to SW19 for the first time since 2022.
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Andy’s mother Judy Murray described that decision as “astonishing”, but Raducanu said in response: “I’m sure she didn’t mean it”.
Of her withdrawal, Raducanu added: “Of course, there was a cloud over that decision. I don’t think I would have done it any other way.
“I think in this sport, especially as an individual, you have to make your own calls and prioritise yourself. Especially with my history, I just had to put myself first.
“I think going into the tournament, I wasn’t expecting to make the fourth round. So, for me it was a no-brainer. I would have loved to have played. It was a very difficult decision.
“Of course, I didn’t want to take his last match away from him. But at the end of the day, I think a lot of the players in a similar situation would have done the same thing, prioritising their body.”
