Emma Raducanu Reflects on Singapore Open Loss and Looks to Future

Emma Raducanu exited the Singapore Open in the first round, losing to Cristina Bucsa, but expressed pride in her performance and is focusing on building momentum for the season.

Emma Raducanu suffered an opening-round exit at the Singapore Open, losing 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 to 101st-ranked Cristina Bucsa. Despite the disappointment, Raducanu refused to be too downcast, instead focusing on the positives from her week in Singapore. The British seventh seed had previously progressed to the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Iga Swiatek in straight sets.

Raducanu has been dealing with a string of injuries since her 2021 US Open victory, but she was pleased with how she handled herself in Singapore, particularly after parting ways with coach Nick Cavaday last week. Raducanu said, “I have the positives (from) this week, coming here on my own with Yutaka and my mom, but I'm really proud of how I dealt and handled myself this week.” She was referring to her fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura and her mother, who accompanied her to Singapore.

The no 7 seed Emma Raducanu in a shock first round defeat to Cristina Busca whose ranked outside the Top 100 in the first round at the WTA 250 in Singapore.

Raducanu was a set up and then 5-4 up in sets 2 and 3 but lost the last 3 games in both those sets.pic.twitter.com/J35IgBCST0

— Pavvy G (@pavyg) January 27, 2025

Raducanu acknowledged that she still has work to do, but she is focusing on the progress she has made so far. She told ESPN, “I feel OK. I feel like I have certain things we all manage as the year goes on. I think it's pretty early in the season.” Raducanu emphasized the importance of gaining match experience and competitive time on court, saying, “For me to be playing this kind of match, all I need is time on court and a match-competitive situation, which I got today. I got it in abundance - over three hours of it - so, for me, it's really valuable because every match I play, I feel like it's a win.”

Raducanu was proud of her fighting spirit in the match against Bucsa, saying, “And I fought really hard. I gave everything. So I just got to keep building and moving on.” Despite the loss, Raducanu is taking away valuable lessons and experience from her time in Singapore, which she hopes will serve her well in her future matches.