sport news Emma Raducanu is learning to play with 'a target on her back' trends now Emma Raducanu will step out onto the grass next month having finally come full circle after the year which turned her life on its head. Twelve months will have passed since she played the Viking Open in Nottingham, where she lost in the first round, before a few hundred people in virtual anonymity. When the end came on Wednesday to this extraordinary first phase of her top line career it did so in the most deflating fashion, a deciding set running away from her. Emma Raducanu crashed out of the French Open on Wednesday in a second round defeat Raducanu was beaten by Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus for the second time this year On the French Open's Court Suzanne Lenglen – probably the most elegant stadium she has experienced, having still never set foot on Wimbledon's Centre Court – she went down 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich. She will be outlasted at Roland Garros by compatriot Cam Norrie, who powered through to the third round with a straight sets win over Australia's Jason Kubler. The defining moment of the last year was, of course, her winning the US Open. Since then Sasnovich has beaten her twice, and both times she has played with a fervour which supports what Raducanu's theory about what has been the abrupt change of all. 'It's different when you are someone who may have a target on their back,' she reflected. Raducanu was competing in her first clay-court swing on the WTA Tour and is improving 'Everyone raises their game, wants to play well, wants to take you out. That's something I have definitely learned on the tour this year and I've accepted that.' She is looking forward to returning to places that will now seem more familiar – she is not entered in Nottingham next month, but may decide to play after this relatively early exit from Paris. 'I do really welcome going around the second time. I think this year was always going to be challenging for me to adjust, find my feet. There's always something new, like I'm always asking where everything is. 'I feel like in the last 12 months I have definitely grown a lot. On the court I feel like I have probably improved how much I fight. I think that's one of my biggest strengths and even more so on the tour this year, and it's definitely opened my eyes to just how good everyone is and how much depth there is in the game. 'I think that it has been a pretty positive year just because I have learnt so much, and that the amount of learning that I have kind of done outweighs any sort of result. 'I feel like I don't approach things crazily differently off the court. I'm exactly the exact same person as I was 12 months ago but yeah, things around me have kind of changed.' She knows expectation has rocketed since winning a Slam and knows a target is on her back Raducanu will head back to the UK, possibly after a day of sightseeing, with a 6-5 match record from her first campaign tackling the clay courts of Europe. That is a decent enough return under those circumstances as her ranking settles down to its true level, which is perhaps around 30 places lower than its current official listing of 12. 'There are definitely aspects of my game that need to improve and kind of catch up to where my current ranking is,' she conceded. 'I'm quite happy with the progress that I'm making. I had no expectations (for the clay) I put myself in four tournaments in a row, probably thinking I was going to lose first round in every single one, but I actually played a few matches in each.' Such comments are designed to manage expectations which, externally at least, will be off the charts as she begins the lead-in to Wimbledon. While grass is the opposite surface, she should still reap the benefits of a prolonged spell on the brown dirt, because nothing so effectively builds a player up physically, which is something she has needed. Grass generates its own pace, and she will not be locked into the kind of challenging slugfest offered up by Sasnovich, who transformed their match by launching a blizzard of winners in the second set. Raducanu stunned the tennis world to win the 2021 US Open women's singles as a qualifier The pivotal game came at 1-1 in the decider when Raducanu forced five break points. On the first one the Kent teenager missed a forehand, before the Belarussian played the next four with an admirable aplomb. The US Open champion faded after that, something the support of British crowds will help ensure does not happen for the next month. While Dan Evans plays on Thursday against Sweden's Mikael Ymer, Norrie will prepare for a third round against Russian Karen Khachanov, the 21st seed with a strong record at Roland Garros. The GB men's No 1 has unobtrusively built up a six match winning streak encompassing his Lyon title at the weekend. There were no dramas as he dismissed Australian qualifier Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in a display which underlined just how difficult he has made himself to beat. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility