US Open: Early exits for Fernandez, Raducanu and Osaka

Leylah Fernandez, top, Emma Raducanu, bottom right, and Naomi Osaka at the US Open.

It has been a tough US Open for the recognizable tennis players of Asian descent. The winners of the last two US Opens, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu, failed to get past the first round and Leylah Fernandez, who lost last year to Raducanu in the finals, fell in the second round.

On a rainy Monday in New York, Osaka, playing for Japan, was beaten by American Danielle Collins in straight sets -- 7-6(5) 6-3 -- while defending champion Emma Raducanu from Great Britain, fell to Alizé Cornet, 6-3 6-3.

Nineteen-year old Filipino Canadian Fernandez, who was ranked 14th, dropped straight sets to Ludmilla Samsonova Wednesday evening.

As a result, Raducanu is projected to drop from 11th to 82nd in the WTA rankings after her 1st round loss. Fernandez is projected to drop from 14th to 38th after her 2nd round exit. Osaka, a two-time US Open champion, was unseeded in this year's event and is currently ranked 44th in the world.

Coming off the heels of a stress fracture in her foot that kept her out of Wimbledon. Fernandez is not yet back to her best form, but her fighting spirit never leaves her. She seems to win as many points and fan support based on her attitude and guile as much as her shots. 

Fernandez nearly summoned the magic which propelled her to the finals last year. The young Canadian found some deft placement and outstanding reflex shots at key moments, and she was able to valiantly fend off 11 of the 13 break points she faced.

Great Britain's Raducanu stunned the tennis world last year when she literally came out of nowhere to win the tournament at the age of 18, beating unheralded Fernandez in the first Grand Slam final to feature two players of Asian descent.

"This one obviously hurts a bit because it's my favorite tournament and there are a lot of emotions in the past year," she told reporters after her early exit.

"I'm proud for putting myself out there every match, every day, knowing I'm pushing myself to be the best I can."

Osaka, who came into the tournament unranked, marks the first time since 2017 that she will finish the year without winning a Grand Slam.

"I'm the type of person that thinks a lot, to the point where I overthink. Sometimes when I play matches, I have to tell myself to stop thinking, just go more on instinct," Osaka told reporters. "I feel like I just have to chill a little bit, because there's a lot of like random chaos in my head right now."

Despite their early exits at the US Open, Osaka, who is only 24, 19-year old Raducanu and Fernandez, who will turn 20 later this month, assures tennis fans that they will be watching the youthful trio for years to come.