The Australian Open has misplaced one other massive identify: Emma Raducanu.
The favored British tennis participant misplaced 6-3 7-6 to American Coco Gauff on Wednesday evening within the second spherical of the event.
It’s one other to the Australian Open, which loves Raducanu as she is common and marketable.
This 12 months, the event rolled out a promotional video that includes the 20-year-old strolling alongside Elwood Seaside.
“I like coming again to Australia, I really feel there’s such a great power right here. And I believe there’s nice banter. The espresso is unbelievable,” she mentioned within the video.
On her personal Instagram, she has 2.5 million followers.
Raducanu’s loss got here simply hours after Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who received the lads’s singles title final 12 months, was additionally knocked out of the event.
The pair be a part of an inventory of fan favourites and massive names now not within the competitors.
Simply two days earlier than, Australian Nick Kyrgios pulled out abruptly with a knee harm.
The AO additionally misplaced Aussie star Ash Barty this 12 months, who has retired, and Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who’s pregnant.
Lower than a fortnight earlier than the event started, Venus Williams pulled out on account of an harm she sustained in Auckland, New Zealand.
It’s an enormous blow to the AO as they’re all names carefully linked to the game and are sometimes identified by those that solely look after tennis yearly through the residence event.
Raducanu shocked to have the ability to play in any respect
Raducanu suffered an ankle harm forward of the Australian Open and after her loss on Wednesday, the previous US Open champion admitted she had had little or no observe time.
“I might say, like, all of the chips have been towards us, and the probabilities of me taking part in this event have been very, very low,” she mentioned in a press convention.
“So I had extraordinarily restricted observe time, and I believe I can say that now I’m not, like, competing anymore.
“However, yeah, it was clearly going to be a push to get me on the court docket. I believe 13 days in the past if you happen to would have instructed us, like, ‘hey, you’re going to be within the draw and win a spherical’, it might have been an enormous effort for certain.
“Saying that, I nonetheless suppose I didn’t essentially play my greatest right now.”
She added that she wish to play Gauff once more, “with greater than 5 hours below my belt of observe”.
Raducanu mentioned within the ten days earlier than the event, her workforce did all the things they may to get her on the court docket.
“And day one I used to be in crutches and doing pool rehab,” she laughed.
“To get onto the court docket from there was an enormous effort.”
