Emma Raducanu has been gifted a golden opportunity to instantly atone for her Wimbledon error ahead of the US Open.
After all, in the lead-up to the third Grand Slam of the year, it really felt like the 22-year-old was picking up steam.
She had impressed across the clay-court season following a landmark run in Miami, and the hope was that she could translate this form and rise up the rankings to go deep at the All-England Club.
And, when she overtook Katie Boulter to reclaim the title of British number one, excitement was justifiably growing.
However, just as it felt like Emma Raducanu was creeping towards a coveted seeded spot for Wimbledon, disaster struck.
Emma Raducanu got really unlucky before Wimbledon
There was tangible anticipation for Raducanu’s return to Wimbledon, especially given how successful her partnership with Mark Petchey had already been across the past few months.
Many felt that, if she could sneak into the event as a seed, the draw could really open up for her to enjoy a lengthy run in front of her home crowd.
Alas, she was felled in just the Round of 16 by Qinwen Zheng at Queen’s, before then having to pull out of Berlin due to further complications with her back.
Clearly, this was a decision she had to make, but Raducanu can feel aggrieved that she could not put her Chinese opponent to the sword on a surface where she has impressed in the past, and Zheng had not.
That was the mistake that Raducanu made which led to her failure to be seeded and subsequent meeting with Aryna Sabalenka in just the third round.
Emma Raducanu must push to be seeded at the US Open
Fortunately, she has a chance to instantly atone for this error ahead of the US Open, where she only has a handful of points to defend, and so many to potentially gain.
Last year, the 2021 US Open champion only played at Washington in the run-up to the final major of the season, choosing to skip Montreal, and being snubbed for a wildcard in Cincinnati.
This time, she seems set to compete in all three events, and is ranked well enough to gain entry without a handout.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Raducanu reached the quarter-finals in Washington last year, so will have to reach that stage to ensure she does not drop any points.
However, across the next two Masters events, there is a massive 2,000 points up for grabs. Hopefully, Raducanu’s potential split with Petchey does not impact her too much.
If she can enjoy two solid runs in Montreal and Cincinnati, Raducanu could make up for her Wimbledon failure and grab a seeded spot at the US Open to hopefully allow her to thrive in New York again.