Emma Raducanu vs Sloane Stephens: Which former US Open champ has had the worse post-title fall from grace?
Emma Raducanu and Sloane Stephens may be ten years apart in terms of their respective ages. However, they have certain similarities in terms of how their careers have played out following their biggest successes so far on the WTA Tour.
Raducanu, now 21, won the 2021 US Open in the most astonishing circumstances. The Brit was making her maiden appearance at the event and her campaign started not in the main draw, but in the qualifying rounds. Somehow, Raducanu, who was 18 at the time, went all the way, and that too without dropping a set.
Stephens, now 31, registered her own title triumph at Flushing Meadows four years before Raducanu did, and it was equally as impressive, if not more. The Florida native had started that year's North American summer hard-court swing ranked World No. 957 after a devastating foot injury forced her to undergo surgery, with the subsequent rehabilitation and recovery taking 11 months of tennis away from her.
However, it's fair to say that both players' careers, for different reasons, have gone downhill since their respective US Open title-winning campaigns, but whose post-major fall from grace has been worse? In my opinion, the answer is Emma Raducanu.
A lot of hype, very little to show for it, injuries, and poor choices: Emma Raducanu's post-US Open 2021 career in a nutshell
The 2021 US Open triumph shot Emma Raducanu to international superstardom overnight. Unsurprisingly, Porsche, Dior, Nike, and many other commercial juggernauts were quick to enter into lucrative sponsorship deals with her. However, in terms of achievements since her win over Leylah Fernandez on that fateful night at Flushing Meadows, Raducanu has tasted very little success.
So far, the 2021 US Open remains the only title that the Brit has won on the WTA Tour. Apart from that, her best finishes have come at the 2022 Korea Open and the 2024 Nottingham Open. At both events, Raducanu registered semifinal finishes.
Of course, injuries haven't helped Emma Raducanu's cause at all. In 2023, after months of dealing with niggling wrist and ankle problems, the Brit decided to undero multiple surgeries. She managed to return to action at the beginning of this season. However, for the most part, it has been a stop-start year so far for the former World No. 10.
Part of that, I feel, has to do with her own choices. For instance, after competing at multiple clay-court events in the build-up to the 2024 French Open, Emma Raducanu decided to withdraw from Roland Garros, all because she did not receive a wildcard main-draw entry. Did she feel that playing in the qualifying rounds is beneath her? Maybe.
Instead, she chose to prepare for the grass-court season, prioritizing her Wimbledon campaign. At SW19, Raducanu reached the fourth round in singles but then did something that took the shine off her fine performances up until then. The 21-year-old had committed to playing mixed doubles with the legendary Andy Murray. However, hours ahead of her scheduled outing with Murray, she pulled out from mixed doubles; an anti-climactic end to Murray's Wimbledon career.
Emma Raducanu's reasoning was that she was prioritizing her singles campaign, as the majority of others in her position would have done. My problem with that is simply this; why did she even commit to playing with Murray and lay bare her apparent excitement about it on multiple occasions just to back out of it at the last minute? If singles was her priority, she should have known better than to agree to playing with the former ATP World No. 1.
What's worse is that her singles campaign came to a grinding halt in the fourth round itself, as qualifier Lulu Sun caused an upset. So much for prioritizing singles. For me, that's pure egg-on-the-face stuff right there.
The North American summer hard-court swing started off brightly for Emma Raducanu with a quarterfinal finish at the Citi Open. However, she turned down opportunities to play at both the National Bank Open in Toronto and the Cincinnati Open. Why? Because once again, she didn't receive wildcard entries into the respective tournaments' main draws and would have had to play the qualifying rounds.
Inexplicably, Raducanu thought that instead of playing competitive matches, training at her own pace in London would be better. The consequence of her choice came to light at the US Open, where she suffered a damning first-round loss to Sofia Kenin. Getting some competitive match time may just have helped Raducanu to a win over Kenin, but I guess that's something we'll never know now.
Behind the scenes, the Brit has gained notoriety for her hire-and-fire approach to her coaches, which is arguably another reason for her lack of consistency. So, all in all, I believe that Emma Raducanu's problems go way deeper than just her tennis.
Fortunately though, I also believe that the 2021 US Open champion still has a lot of time to set things right. Right now, the 21-year-old is in action at the Korea Open, and has set up a quarterfinal clash against Daria Kasatkina. Who knows? This might just be the start of an Emma Raducanu resurgence.
Sloane Stephens always had the talent, but seemingly never quite the desire
Call me biased, but I feel like Sloane Stephens, despite having won the 2017 US Open, was never a Grand Slam winner at heart. Stephens' talent is undeniable, but her all-court game has almost always been passive, a stark contrast to her contemporaries from the USA, who tend to leverage more aggressive styles of play.
Stephens' attitude has also often been called into question, notably by yesteryear great Chris Evert. The 31-year-old has often adopted a casual approach to dealing with defeats. Many will argue that a player with Grand Slam winning aspirations must be more self-critical to ensure improvements in the wake of losses.
However, for me, that's just who Stephens is, unapologetically. Also, despite her form struggles, the former World No. 3 has continued to pick up the odd title here and there. Even this season, where so far she has a 19-21 win-loss record, Stephens won the Rouen Open, which marked her seventh title on the WTA Tour and her third title since her 2017 US Open triumph.
Last but not least, Stephens being 31 now means that very few people expect her to be challenging for the biggest titles going forward. So, in my book, the seven-time WTA Tour-level title winner, at this point, is just going with the flow and simply enjoying the experience.
On the other hand, Emma Raducanu, for me, is paying the price for an unexpected success on the biggest stage at an early age. It's like suddenly flying to the summit of Mount Everest, but then being flung off it and then trying to climb it carrying the heavy weight of pressure and expectations from the self and from the world.