'It's a joke' - Emma Raducanu hits back at 'pressure' claim after Wimbledon loss to Caroline Garcia

Emma Raducanu hit back at a suggestion there was pressure on her at Wimbledon after her second-round exit, calling it a “joke”. US Open champion Raducanu, 19, saw her hopes of another deep Grand Slam run ended in straight sets by Caroline Garcia on Centre Court. Ad/> She will now look ahead to the hard-court season and the defence of her US Open title.

WimbledonGarcia ends Raducanu's Wimbledon run with impressive win3 HOURS AGO Asked how the “pressure” on her over the last month might prepare her for a return to New York, Raducanu said: “There's no pressure. Like, why is there any pressure? I'm still 19. Like, it's a joke.

I literally won a Slam. “Going back to New York, it's going to be cool because I have got a lot of experiences playing on big courts, playing with people in the stadium, playing with the spotlight on you. “I don't mind that.

I mean, for me, everything is learning. I'm embracing every single moment that is thrown at me.” Raducanu beaten in second round by Garcia Djokovic on reunion with Murray, Nadal, Federer Having seen her grass-court preparation limited to just seven games due to injury earlier in the summer in Nottingham, Raducanu was keen to put the loss against Garcia into perspective. “Coming into this I didn't really have many expectations of myself.

Playing on Centre Court again was, again, a really positive experience for me. So, yeah, I can take it going forwards. “I declared myself fully fit when I walked out onto the court on the first day.

But I've played seven hours of tennis in a month. To even compete with these girls at this level and win a round I think is a pretty good achievement.” Reflecting on the match, Raducanu added: “I think it was first-strike tennis. She served really well