Emma Raducanu is a fine player but has not been sustainably great. She won a Grand Slam in 2021 at the US Open when she won her title without having to play a top-10 player. Still, everyone else had the same opportunity and did not take advantage of the situation.
That victory remains Raducanu's only WTA title. Since then, she has dealt with dips in form and various injuries. She has had surgeries on both wrists and an ankle. She even managed to be attacked by jumping ants in Australia, which forced her to withdraw from an event. She has had bad luck.
The problem for her in the fourth round of the 2025 Italian Open was that she simply played a player with more physical ability than she has. Coco Gauff hits with power, chases down seemingly everything that hits her way, and has the skill set that is difficult for anyone.
Coco Gauff dispatches Emma Raducanu at the Italian Open
For Raducanu to defeat the American, she must play her best for the entire match. Any questions about that happening were quickly dispatched in the first set that saw Gauff steamroll past the Brit. Her forehand was six mph faster than her opponent's, and Gauff's backhand was 10 mph faster than the Brit's. Gauff took the first set 6-1.
Raducanu fought back to start the second set, holding serve twice and making Gauff slightly nervous on hers. Still, the Brit coming back to win the match appeared impossible, especially as she struggled with indecisiveness about which kind of shot to attempt at times. As long as Gauff did not defeat herself with inconsistent first serves, she would be the player moving on.
Any drama of a change in the match's outcome ended with Raducanu's third service game of the second set, when she could only win one point against the American. Gauff has already won at the Italian Open as she will move up to WTA No. 2 after Iga Swiatek shockingly lost earlier. After defeating Raducanu 6-1 6-2, she will next play Clara Tauson or Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals.