Emma Raducanu handed clay-court lesson by Coco Gauff in Rome

There is no doubt that Emma Raducanu has made improvements on the clay courts in recent weeks, but a straight-sets defeat by Coco Gauff in the last 16 of the Italian Open on Monday shows that there is still some distance between her and the very best players in the world.

Gauff’s quality was evident here in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the course of 79 minutes in Rome. It was frankly a lesson from the American world No3 for Raducanu in the nuances of tennis on its most gruelling surface before the French Open this month.

There are positives to take for Raducanu from her run in Rome. Three consecutive wins has lifted the 22-year-old seven spots to a projected position of No42 in next week’s world rankings — too late for a seeding at Roland Garros although it has given her a chance of pushing into the top 32 by Wimbledon next month.

Clearly, though, there is a considerable gulf between Raducanu and those at the upper end of the rankings. Winning a grand-slam event as an 18-year-old qualifier at the 2021 US Open will always be one of this sport’s most remarkable achievements, but overall across the tour it is quite instructive that she has only won one match in 11 against top-eight opposition.

Gauff, the world No3, reached the French Open final in 2022 DAN ISTITENE/GETTY IMAGES

“I found it a really difficult match,” Raducanu told Sky Sports. “The conditions were very different to my last rounds. It was a different court and I think it was just very bouncy. There wasn’t much clay on the court and it was quite windy too. Coco also played a really good match and I definitely saw why she’s three in the world right now. She played really well and I do think I got outplayed today but I guess I have no shame in saying that. I am just looking forward to trying to work to get better.”

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Her body, however, held up with no sign of the niggles that used to dog her on a regular basis. “Physically I held up pretty well in the last week especially,” Raducanu said. “I had two really long three-set matches and came out of them pretty good, so I’m proud of that.

“Also just the way certain elements of my game were coming together with my serve and my forehand. I was definitely hitting both better this week and I got a lot of success in the first three rounds, but today it was very difficult for me to get it in play as much with the ball bouncing really high in not so uniform conditions. I’d say you are a bit more doubting yourself, dancing the balance and everything. But it’s just good learning.”

Facing Gauff was also a considerable step up from what Raducanu had already encountered in Rome against players ranked No50, No78 and No94. Although Gauff’s sole grand-slam singles title came on hard courts at the 2023 US Open, she is also a formidable competitor on clay and was a runner-up at the French Open three years ago.

Raducanu has shown an improvement on clay, but there is still some distance between her and the top players on the surface DAN ISTITENE/GETTY IMAGES

Watching this match, it was also easy to forget that Gauff was actually the younger of the two players here at 21 years old. The journeys of both have been very different: Gauff has gradually gained experience of the tour since her emergence at the age of 15, in stark contrast to Raducanu’s sudden breakthrough on the big stage and subsequent struggles for consistency.

A double fault by Gauff in the first point of the match was only the briefest of blips in a swirling wind. She broke Raducanu’s serve at the first opportunity for a 2-0 lead and looked far more comfortable rallying from the baseline, going on to serve out the set on her fifth set point after some late resistance from Raducanu.

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The Briton made a better start to the second set by keeping pace with Gauff for 2-2, but she could not keep it up. A backhand slice drifted wide to concede the break for 3-2 and she found it difficult to get past the defensive skills of Gauff, who is so adept at sliding around the court. The forehand of Gauff was also notably potent on a warm afternoon, bouncing off the dry court with spin high above Raducanu’s usual striking zone.

Raducanu also struggled on serve, hitting no aces to Gauff’s four and winning only 48 per cent of points on her first serve. Her movement on clay has improved this season but these numbers show there is still some way to go before she can impose herself against top players on the red stuff.

Raducanu’s serve was a weak point in her match against Gauff PIERO CRUCIATTI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Raducanu is now exploring the option of playing another warm-up tournament before the start of the French Open on May 25. Ranked below the entry list cut for next week’s Strasbourg Open, she has expressed interest in taking up a main draw wild card if organisers are open to extending an invite.

“I would love to just keep improving and playing,” Raducanu said. “I think that’s a positive for me. I don’t want to go hide in a hole somewhere. I want to go back out there, so we’ll see how that goes in the next week before the French Open if I play and if I get into Strasbourg. But for now I’ve played [and practised] a good 12 days on the trot so I am looking forward to a day off or so and then getting back to it.”

In the men’s singles, Jannik Sinner is showing few signs of rust after returning from his three-month doping ban. The world No1 comfortably reached the round of 16 on home soil by defeating the Netherlands’ Jesper de Jong 6-4, 6-2.

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