NEW YORK (AP) — Emma Raducanu finished up practice at the U.S. Open on Friday by hitting with a young girl she asked fans on social media to help her find after they couldn't connect a day earlier.
Raducanu is back at the tournament she surprisingly won three years ago, and she shrugs off questions about whether she’s played enough matches to be ready for it.
Her 2021 U.S. Open title is still Raducanu's only one on the WTA Tour, and she didn't even play in Flushing Meadows last year because of injuries. The 21-year-old from England has played fewer than 30 matches this year and passed up chances to be more active, but she doesn't second-guess her preparation for the final Grand Slam of the season.
“Even when I won the U.S. Open, I only played a few tournaments that year,” Raducanu said. “Yes, they were closer together, but I’m not in any big rush to play those. I think I’d rather target tournaments and be ready to play the tournaments that I’m entered in.”
After losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon in July in her home Grand Slam, Raducanu chose not to play in the Olympics and made just one appearance on the North American hard-court swing, losing in the third round in Washington.
She decided not to play in Canada — where she was born and holds a passport — and then opted to return to Britain to practice, rather than attempt to play any more tournaments ahead of her return to New York, where she will face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round.
While some players crave match time, Raducanu said that just isn't her.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be the player who’s playing, like, close to 30 events a year,” she said. “I think that’s not my style. It never has been.”
She couldn't play too many in 2023, missing the second half of the year after undergoing surgery on both wrists and an ankle. So her only appearance at the U.S. Open after becoming the first player to come through qualifying to win a Grand Slam tournament was a first-round loss to Alize Cornet the following year.
Raducanu said she feels more ready to play in New York this time and got in some extra practice Friday with a 7-year-old fan who had watched her a day earlier and yelled out that Raducanu was her favorite player. Raducanu later apologized on social media that she had to rush off after that workout and they couldn't meet, asking followers to help her find the girl.
She did on Friday, and invited the fan, named Remy, down to hit with her on the court.
“She barely missed a ball and she has a lot of courage to kind of go onto the court with a lot of people watching and start hitting balls, and it was nice to meet her and speak to her,” Raducanu said. “Obviously I felt incredibly bad about yesterday, but I feel good and I feel happy that I was able to connect with her today.”
Raducanu knows that critics of her career choices question whether she's ready to win the U.S. Open. Seeing her name on the trophy and her picture among the champions on the grounds reminds her she has — and can again.
“I think that’s such an epic achievement and these two weeks I completed it,” she said. “So for me coming back here now, I come back with such a different outlook and just joy and promise, and it inspires me to want to do more.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
FILE - Emma Raducanu, of Britain, returns a shot to Alize Cornet, of France, during the first round of the US Open tennis championships, Aug. 30, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold enjoyed a valuable reset last season of a sputtering NFL career painted by the unfulfilled expectations of a quarterback from a prestigious college program drafted third overall.
It was a burden-free year with the San Francisco 49ers to be the backup while continuing to learn the league, his position and himself. The Minnesota Vikings enjoyed an immediate benefit from this new version of Darnold in a dominant season-opening performance.
He's aiming to use those off-the-field gains against the 49ers this week. Darnold's home debut for the Vikings will come on Sunday afternoon, with his former team paying a visit.
“I learned so much last year,” Darnold said. “Just being able to learn every single game plan and study throughout the week, I think that was the biggest takeaway that I had, with all the different things that we had to know as quarterbacks going into a game."
After going 13-25 as the starter for the New York Jets over his first three NFL seasons, Darnold was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He only found further instability around him, leading to more injuries and more interceptions.
Last year, he put his starting aspiration on hold to join the well-oiled operation under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan — and supported Brock Purdy all the way to the Super Bowl.
“He helped me tremendously with my prep and we all bounced ideas off each other and what we could get and what we need to be aware of,” Purdy said. “Sam contributed so much to our success as a team, man.”
Darnold had his own enlightenment about the pressure — both real and imagined — he experienced in New York when he entered the league in 2018 from USC.
“When you’re at quarterback, I feel like a lot of times you can feel everything kind of collapsing on you, not just in the game, but theoretically, like, as a whole,” Darnold said. “If things aren’t going your way, you can feel the weight of the world a little bit. At the end of the day, it’s your job to just put the ball in your playmakers' hands and let them go run and make a play.
"I think it’s as simple as that sometimes.”
With the Vikings, Darnold's bridge assignment was cemented as a full-season gig when J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.
“I was hoping he’d find no good spots and come back here,” Shanahan said. "But I was happy for him he got this opportunity because Sam more than deserves it. Sam is a starting quarterback in this league and he should run with it.”
The arm strength and processing speed were never in question, but coach Kevin O'Connell and the rest of the coaches and players have been impressed by how naturally Darnold has taken to the complex scheme, improved his footwork and fit in with a new team.
“If you give Sam some time in the drop-back game, just throwing the ball, he’s going to make the right read and throw a nice ball,” Vikings running back Aaron Jones said. “He’s really slept on, so we’re glad to have him. At the end of the season, we’ll look up and there’ll be a lot people talking about him.”
Darnold was 19 of 24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns, one sack and one interception against the New York Giants. The 44-yard pass to Justin Jefferson he threaded along the sideline during a 99-yard drive was a prime example of the confidence he has in his new surroundings.
“I was double-covered on that play,” Jefferson said. “Him throwing it to that spot and me going to get it, that is going to happen a majority of the time during the season. He has to understand that even when I am double-teamed, I’m still open and that I am going to make a play.”
The 49ers didn’t miss a beat with All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey sidelined for the opener because of a sore calf muscle and Achilles tendon, with backup Jordan Mason rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown against the Jets.
His 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player since Frank Gore had 31 on Oct. 30, 2011, and he also broke a league-best 13 tackles, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
McCaffrey will be a game-time decision again this week. The 49ers are plenty confident Mason can contribute either as the featured runner or by taking some of the normal load off McCaffrey if he is cleared to play.
“He’s a dense, sturdy guy and he just runs downhill very physically,” All-Pro tight end George Kittle said. “Hopefully he can just keep doing that and there’ll be a very good substitute for Christian so we don’t have to play Christian for 100 snaps a game.”
Jones will also make his home debut for the Vikings after seven seasons with their fiercest rival the Green Bay Packers. He’s eager to join the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd in the ritual “Skol!” chant that’s accompanied by a rhythmic over-the-head clap that builds to a frenzy.
“When you’re on the other sideline, you’re trying not to clap, you’re trying not to get into it, because you see the whole stadium doing it and it’s contagious,” said Jones, who rushed 14 times for 94 yards last week. “I’m really amped to just come out there and play in front of the fans.”
San Francisco kicker Jake Moody enjoyed a superb start to his second season by tying a franchise record with six field goals made last week, including two from at least 50 yards.
The 2023 third-round draft pick had a spotty rookie year, including a potential winning field goal he missed against Cleveland and an extra point he had blocked in the Super Bowl against Kansas City.
“Every time that he got more eyes on him and people were waiting for him to fail, he always rebounded and got through that,” Shanahan said. “When you do that, you build true confidence and you get stronger through adversity.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy looks to pass the ball against the New York Jets during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, center, gestures toward fans after an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates after a 21-yard touchdown catch by teammate wide receiver Jalen Nailor (83) during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold answers questions during a press conference after an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
