“She thinks she’s Serena Williams”;”Delusional” – Fans baffled by Emma Raducanu’s ‘conceited’ remarks after US Open loss to Elena Rybakina

Emma Raducanu (L) and Elena Rybakina (R) (Image Source: Getty)

Emma Raducanu shared her thoughts on how top players felt they had a point to prove when facing her after suffering a loss to Elena Rybakina at the 2025 US Open. However, the Brit’s comments drew heavy criticism from tennis fans, who felt she had overstepped.

Despite claiming dominant straight-set wins in her first two matches at the New York Major, Raducanu failed to challenge Rybakina in their blockbuster third-round clash. The Kazakh produced a stellar performance to secure a 6-1, 6-2 victory in just 62 minutes to advance to the fourth round of the event.

Speaking to the press after her loss, Emma Raducanu expressed her belief that top players like Elena Rybakina were determined to prove why they were the best when they faced her on the court. The Brit also said that she took it as a compliment that the top stars chose to “lock in” against her in particular.

“Oh yeah, big time. I think when the very top play against me like you know they have a point to prove that they’re at the top and they’re there for a reason and I think every time I’ve played one they’ve kind of shown that,” Emma Raducanu said.

“So I think at the same time while I’m improving, doing better, gaining maybe some more respect around I think yeah the top have definitely just like raised their game but I’ll take that as a compliment that they’ve like decided to really lock in against me but at the same time it does show I have a lot more work to do,” she added.

However, fans disagreed with the 22-year-old’s comments, dismissing them as “conceited” and suggesting that such statements were better suited to legends like Serena Williams.

“She thinks she’s Serena,” one fan posted.

“I remember Serena saying that all players came to their court with their A games against her. Obviously in Serena’s case that made sense, everyone trying to knock down the Queen. It makes no sense in Emma’s case, all she represents is an obstacle to the next round,” another fan chimed in.

“There’s a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance. I think she crossed it,” a fan contended.

“These kind of statements (there’s been several) are why I can’t warm to Raducanu, even though I’m British… this comes across as conceited rather than confident,” said yet another.

Fans continued to criticize Emma Raducanu for her “delusional” take and argued that top players were hardly losing sleep over the thought of facing her.

“Delusional and narcissistic,” a fan commented.

“Trust me I say, no one in the top tier, gives you a second thought. They surely have nothing to prove,” another fan wrote.

“I’ll tell you this for a fact , the top players are not losing sleep over Emma,” said another.

https://twitter.com/thierryAgain/status/1961503832246190419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1961503832246190419%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=blob%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportskeeda.com%2F939fec7a-a960-4cb2-9c5b-02b3b818cf8a

Emma Raducanu after US Open exit: “I’ve lost to Iga Swiatek twice, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, so it’s tough”

Emma Raducanu – Source: Getty

In the same press conference at the US Open, Emma Raducanu reflected on her recent losses to the likes of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Raducanu. As the World No. 36, Raducanu acknowledged that she needed to improve her ranking in order to avoid facing the top players in the early rounds of the Majors.

The Brit expressed her intention to put in her best effort to close the gap between her and the top stars during the remainder of the season so she would be in a better position when the 2026 Australian Open rolled around.

“Yeah, I’ve lost to Iga twice, Aryna and Elena, so it’s tough. But at the same time, that’s where I’m at with my ranking. Like, I can play top opponents in the first, second or third round. So I just got to do my best in the next few months until Australia to just keep working to try and close the gap,” Emma Raducanu said.

Following her loss at the New York Major, Emma Raducanu will be back in action at the WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing, scheduled to commence on September 24. Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina will lock horns with Marketa Vondrousova in the fourth round of the US Open.