Emma Raducanu beaten by Marta Kostyuk in the Transyvania Open

US Open champion Emma Raducanu was beaten 6-2 6-1 by Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the quarterfinals of the Transylvania Open on Friday. Both the players came through the junior ranking in the same age bracket at the same time. Meanwhile Raducanu said she was still coming to terms with the fast pace of life on tour but vowed to brush aside her disappointing defeat in Romania and come back stronger. Raducanu recorded her first tour level win when she defeated Polona Hercog on Tuesday.

However, the world No 23 couldn’t replicate the stunning form she had shown earlier by winning the US Open as a qualifier. Kostyuk stood firm and ended Raducanu’s run in Cluj-Napoca with a brutally one-sided win.

After the loss the 18-year-old Briton said “It’s been a lot of learnings and I think I’ve experienced a lot in the last six months with not so much gaps, and I’m just adapting to the fast-paced life of the tour and obviously still very new to it,” she said. “So I think it’s still going to take me some time to adjust.”

“I want to give myself a chance to see if I can reset, bounce back and finish the year strong,” she said.

“That’s the plan right now. I think that on being on tour, you’re gonna take losses and feel tired, maybe a lot of the time, so it’s all learning. Maybe I will feel better, maybe I will still feel tired, but we’ll see.”

Kostyuk played a strong game

Meanwhile 19-year-old Kostyuk played a strong game as she landed many returns and frequently forced errors from Raducanu. The Ukrainian used her athleticism to good effect as she stepped inside the court and struck sweet backhand down the line winners when the opportunity was presented. 

Meanwhile Raducanu had an off day as she committed 41 enforced errors and finished with seven double faults including three on break points. She sprayed forehand errors and lost control of her serve.

Kostyuk said afterwards “I have to be honest, it was a bit rough for me to watch both of their runs. I’m trying to be the best I can be, so obviously I want to be where they are and I’m sure it’s gonna happen soon but I didn’t feel very nice,”

“This is the thing they gave me which I’m very thankful for. Because leading something is never easy. When you are the first, it’s always extra pressure, you always have more expectations. It was very inspirational, I’m not gonna lie.” she added.

Kostyuk will face Romanian Simona Halep in the semi-final on Saturday. The home favourite Halep has continued to take positive steps forward after a below par season. The 30-year-old defeated her compatriot Jaqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-1 in 67 minutes.