The US Open is set to conclude this weekend at Flushing Meadows, with Emma Raducanu facing a potential ranking setback and Michelle Obama offering a supportive message to Coco Gauff after her semi-final exit.
Raducanu's Ranking Battle
Raducanu has endured an injury-hit summer, forced to withdraw from Wimbledon and the US Open due to a stress fracture in her lower right leg. The disappointment was compounded by her strong performance at Queen's, where she reached the final but lost to Donna Vekic.
After 12 weeks out of action, the former US Open champion is nearing a return, posting a video of herself hitting a serve at the LTA's National Tennis Centre. However, her WTA ranking has dropped dramatically to world No. 70.
While she can gain entry to some events using her protected ranking, a potential drop out of the top 100 would force Raducanu to qualify for Grand Slam events again.
Michelle Obama's Message to Gauff
Obama watched from a front-row seat as Gauff suffered a devastating semi-final defeat to Elena Rybakina on Friday. The home favourite won the opening set but was eventually undone by the newly-crowned world No. 1, who won 3-6 6-4 6-4.
The 62-year-old former First Lady offered a sincere message to the 22-year-old on social media after her defeat. Obama wrote on X: "Big hugs to @CocoGauff !!! She’s a joy to watch. Always proud. Go USA Tennis!!"
In her post-match press conference, Gauff admitted she deserved to lose to the Kazakhstani star. She said: "She played really well, I thought it was a good match. It honestly came down to a couple service games of mine in both sets and I didn’t quite hold. I have to look back and see what happened. She does a great job of just being there every point and putting a lot of pressure on you, service game and return game. She was able to hold the line a bit better than I could tonight."
The US Open continues until September 13, with Ben Shelton's five-set upset victory over Carlos Alcaraz ranking as a highlight. Shelton's reward is an all-American semi-final clash against Frances Tiafoe, with the winner achieving their first Grand Slam final appearance against the winner of Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov.
