LONDON — Emma Raducanu expressed frustration with having to get a few her rackets re-strung throughout her third-round loss to top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon on Friday.
The British participant let leads slip in each units of her 7-6 (6), 6-4 loss at Centre Courtroom with the retractable roof closed.
“I felt just like the ball was flying. I had all my rackets strung up contemporary for the match, and it simply felt prefer it was pinging fully completely different,” Raducanu stated. “It might have been slightly bit as a result of the roof was on. I despatched a pair rackets to be re-strung.
“But it surely takes, like, 20 minutes by the point they flip it over. Nonetheless, it was a bit troublesome. So I’m pissed off with that half possibly, small particulars. However I don’t assume I might have made completely different selections. I feel I ought to have simply executed higher.”
Sabalenka agreed “the balls have been flying extra,” she suspected, due to larger humidity with the roof closed.
The three-time Grand Slam champion stated her staff sometimes has additional rackets prepared.
“They all the time have like two additional rackets with the upper rigidity and two additional rackets with decrease rigidity. They put together it. You don’t have to attend for an additional racket,” Sabalenka stated.
Sabalenka stated she misplaced within the 2023 French Open semifinals to Karolina Muchova “as a result of I didn’t have racket” with the best rigidity.
“We weren’t ready. I didn’t have a proper rigidity. I needed to play with a decrease rigidity. I didn’t management the ball, didn’t really feel effectively,” she stated.
“After that have,” she continued, “we discovered it’s 4 additional rackets in my staff’s bag simply in case. You by no means know. You’ll be able to get up and really feel nice with one rigidity. One other day you get up and also you don’t really feel in any respect. You bought to be ready.”
