Emma Raducanu dismantled by Iga Swiatek in tame French Open exit

Iga Swiatek produced a level of tennis on Wednesday that Emma Raducanu cannot compete with on a clay court at present. The Briton’s game was completely dismantled over the course of one hour and 19 minutes as she tamely bowed out in the second round of the French Open.

In the defence of Raducanu, many players have suffered a similar experience against the reigning “Queen of Clay” on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Swiatek, the four-times champion in Paris, has won 37 of her 39 matches here: 23 of them consecutively since 2022.

Winning three games in a 6-1, 6-2 defeat is a reasonable return when compared to some of those who have faced Swiatek in the past, but ultimately this was still a bruising afternoon for Raducanu. The 22-year-old was completely outplayed in all departments and never looked as if she had any idea how to pose problems for her esteemed opponent.

This is a pattern across all surfaces for Raducanu. In five matches against Swiatek she has never won a set, with their previous encounter also proving a thrashing at 6-1, 6-0 in the third round of the Australian Open. No wonder the handshake offered by a deflated Raducanu at the end of the match here did not appear particularly warm.

“I think Iga played really well today,” Raducanu said afterwards. “I think every time we have played she plays really well. It puts really a lot of pressure on from the beginning, makes me feel like I have to maybe do something extra or I just don’t know what to do in the moment. It does shift the dynamics of the match a bit, and then it’s very difficult to stay with her as she grows in confidence. It just shows the distance that I have to improve.

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“I definitely think I can improve certain areas of my game to maybe make me feel like I have less holes. I’m just going to try my best to work on that.”

And what about the view on this match-up from the other side of the net? “There are players that just have the ball that for some of us is a little bit easier, while others don’t like it,” Swiatek said. “I know Emma can also play great tennis, because when we played in Stuttgart [Swiatek won 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 last year] it was pretty intense and tight.

Raducanu lost five straight games as her opponent took the first set 6-1 TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND

“I was ready for everything. I’m happy that I was focused on myself to just play my game and then lead with it.”

It is also another reminder that Raducanu still has some way to go to contend with the world’s best players. Her 2021 US Open victory as a qualifier at the age of 18 will for ever be one of tennis’s great achievements, but she has since struggled to perform at the highest level on the tour. Against opposition ranked inside the top eight, she has lost 11 of 12 matches. Ten of these defeats were in straight sets.

“There is a big difference as you go up into the top five and play grand-slam champions,” Raducanu said. “It is a completely different ball game.”

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As if Raducanu’s task on Wednesday were not hard enough, the roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier was opened shortly before the match after the rain cleared outside. Swiatek’s game is better suited to the outdoor conditions as she is far more adaptable than Raducanu.

Swiatek, the four-times champion, now has 23 consecutive victories at Roland Garros TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND

Swiatek had a brief wobble on her own serve at the start but saved a break point to hold for 1-0. Raducanu settled some nerves with her own hold for 1-1 but this was as good as it got for her in the first set as she subsequently lost the next five games.

The contrast between the pair from the baseline was stark. Raducanu struggled to penetrate with her forehands and backhands, while Swiatek comfortably used her groundstrokes at all angles to open up the court. In total, Swiatek hit 32 winners to Raducanu’s eight.

There was a brief moment of hope for Raducanu when she brought up three points to break back at 2-1 down in the second set, but Swiatek snuffed them out in a long nine-minute game. From there she took back control to see out the win, converting match point with a backhand winner down the line.

Raducanu said that her defeat highlights that “I still have a long way to go” CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/EPA

Still, there is at least one positive to take from Raducanu’s participation here. One win is enough to lift her four spots to a projected No37 in the world rankings, only five spots outside a seeding for Wimbledon. She has two more tournaments to try to secure this, starting with the HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club from June 9.

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And there have been some improvements to Raducanu’s overall clay-court game during the past month or so. She claimed six wins in ten matches, including a run to the last 16 of the Italian Open, with the help of better movement and more spin on her forehand. The challenge now is making more of a mark on the sport’s elite.

“I think there were positives in the sense that I won a few matches on the surface,” Raducanu said. “I’m pretty happy with that considering at the beginning I felt really uncomfortable moving. But I guess against the top players in the world I still have a long way to go, and it just highlights that.”

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