SO, WHERE did it all go wrong for the multi-millionaire, prodigiously talented, vastly intelligent, highly marketable, dedicated, likeable 19-year-old former US Open champion Emma Raducanu?
The question, of course, is ludicrous.
Emma Raducanu looked relaxed as she headed out for a stroll in New York
The British superstar is ready for a clean slate in her tennis career
Because if Raducanu never wins another tennis tournament for the rest of her career, she will still have been responsible for the single most astonishing British sporting feat of all time.
Her stunning victory as a rookie qualifier at Flushing Meadows last year was an unprecedented achievement.
No other qualifier, male or female, has won a Major singles title.
And just to make her exploits more ridiculous still, Raducanu did it without dropping a single set in ten matches.
After Raducanu’s defence of her crown ended in a first-round defeat against the experienced Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, it would be easy to assume that Raducanu — who hasn’t won three matches in a row since that fairytale of New York — has been crushed by the weight of expectations.
But the British teenager, mature and canny beyond her years, doesn’t give you that impression.
Despite the millions she has raked in through commercial endorsements, Raducanu seems remarkably grounded — speaking with some relief about an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and remove the target from her back, after her US Open exit.
No longer a reigning Grand Slam champion, she possesses the talent and temperament to find her way back up the world rankings in more conventional fashion.
Raducanu’s ranking is likely to fall from a career-high of No 10, back down to around No 80 — and now she feels she can benefit from less pressure.
But the truth is that, while the limelight has been harsh, expectations were probably not so towering anyway.
After such impossible heights have been scaled, nobody has really known what to expect from Raducanu anyway. Not least the player herself.
For decades, British sport has adored its “nearly” men and women.
Sir Stirling Moss never won a world Formula One title, Sir Henry Cooper was never a world boxing champion, Paula Radcliffe never claimed an Olympic medal and Colin Montgomerie never secured a Major golf title.
And in tennis, Tim Henman never even reached a Grand Slam final. Yet all were national treasures.
Raducanu completed a sporting miracle with her US Open win in 2021
A year later and it was a first-round exit against Alize Cornet
Perennial plucky failure at the highest level is what we’re used to. Perhaps we like it better that way.
Raducanu, at present, is the polar opposite of all that.
So many fine competitors have toiled in vain for their entire careers to achieve what Raducanu enjoyed in only her second Grand Slam tournament.
One year of relative struggles as a teen is no guarantee Raducanu will end up as a flash-in-the-pan, one-hit wonder.
There have been a series of physical problems, including a chronic issue with blisters on her hands.
And there has been an alarming turnover in coaches, suggesting impatience and uncertainty on Raducanu’s behalf.
Like a lottery winner struggling to come to terms with her fortune, or an astronaut struggling to adapt to life back on Earth, Raducanu has surely been weirded out by the surreality of the past 12 months.
Now for the reality of life as a middle-ranking touring pro – starting with a casual and relaxed stroll around the streets of New York the day after her US Open defeat.
But as for talk of pressure, well, what pressure? Unlike most middle-ranking touring pros, Raducanu knows she is capable of anything.
Raducanu will drop down to around No80 in the world rankings
She headed out to a bagel shop with her team
