Emma Raducanu, who made a dream run to the US Open title last year, suffered a nightmare 6-3, 6-3 first-round loss to Frenchwoman Alize Cornet as the clock finally struck midnight on an improbable tennis fairytale.
Raducanu captivated the sporting world when she became the first qualifier to claim a Grand Slam title, winning 10 matches in New York without dropping a set. That catapulted her career into the stratosphere and made her one of the most marketable athletes on the planet.
Twelve months ago Raducanu arrived at her opening match an unknown with no expectations or pressure but yesterday the 19-year-old sometimes appeared to be carrying the weight of the world on her slender shoulders.
Not only was Raducanu defending her one and only title but a massive 2,040 of her 2,756 ranking points - and with those gone the world No 11 will drop out of the top 70 and back having to qualify for some events or depend on wildcards.
But the loss, said the Briton, has also brought freedom and a clean slate that will allow her to reconstruct her game and career without unrealistic expectations.
"Obviously really disappointing, really sad to leave here," Raducanu said. "But also, in a way happy because it's a clean slate. I'm going to drop down the rankings. Climb my way back up.
"In a way the target will be off my back slightly."
Raducanu endured a difficult first full year on the WTA Tour with injuries and poor form limiting her match wins, with each early exit bringing increased scrutiny. Still just 19, Raducanu will now be able to grow into her career and if that means playing lower-level events then that is what she will do.
"I can just start again," said Raducanu. "I don't know what my ranking will be. Probably pretty low down. It would be nice in a way to just start over, start fresh."
She is the first defending US Open champion to lose in the first round since Germany's Angelique Kerber in 2017.
Defending champion Emma Raducanu lost to Alize Cornet in the first round of the US Open. AFP
