The separation of Emma Raducanu and Torben Beltz - it came as a surprise. After all, the US Open winner had just impressed at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix last week: in addition to two mandatory wins, she also won the duel against the current measure of all things in women's tennis, namely Iga Swiatek.

A lot of people were expecting things to be clear here, especially given Swiatek's performances over the past few weeks. But Raducanu held back strongly, 4: 6, 4: 6 it was said in the end , the second set could have gone into overtime.

However, this match, Raducanu's first ever against a top 10 player, also opened her eyes: "Against Iga, I felt that in the first few games I just had to get used to the speed of the ball and therefore one had a bit of a slow start," explained Raducanu on the sidelines of the WTA tournament in Madrid .

She currently wants to place more value on sparring than before. "I think that's definitely something that's becoming more and more clear to me as I get older on the Tour: I just have to get used to the girls' ball speed." She felt that "if I could incorporate this type of training into my daily routine, it could help me."

Emma Raducanu: Early defeats have 'no meaning'

Raducanu had already explained in Stuttgart how she had to get used to everything and get to know the tour. Every tournament is new for her, the paths, the changing rooms, everything. Also the speed of the places.

Therefore, of course, things will not always go according to plan. But: "I accepted that and ask myself on the way," said the 19-year-old. So she wouldn't really care about how often she's busted in round 1. "It doesn't matter to me right now because I'm enjoying picking myself up and working things through."

She doesn't have to worry about it in Madrid either: After a bad start, she defeated Tereza Martincova 7: 6 (3) and 6: 0 here. Next opponent, probably on Sunday, is Marta Kostyuk.

To the single draw in Madrid

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