Former British No 1 Tim Henman believes the best is yet to come from Emma Raducanu despite her chastening US Open defeat at the hands of Elena Rybakina.

Raducanu had breezed through to the third round in New York, winning her first two matches for the loss of only six games, but here she was on the receiving end as former Wimbledon champion Rybakina powered to a 6-1 6-2 victory in just 62 minutes.

The loss brings to an end a season of what might have been for Raducanu at the Grand Slams, with the 22-year-old having failed to progress beyond the third round at any of them, having run into Iga Swiatek twice, Aryna Sabalenka and now Rybakina.

Against Swiatek and Rybakina, she managed to win just seven games in three matches, while her clash with Sabalenka at Wimbledon was much closer and had inspired confidence that she could compete with the very best.

Speaking to Sky Sports, former US Open semi-finalist Henman said: "For Raducanu, it's going to be raw, it's going to be disappointing.

"Rybakina was too good. But when the dust settles and Raducanu is able to sit down with her team, she is absolutely moving in the right direction.

"She has got to continue to work on that process, and the more she does that, the more impact she'll have in these big tournaments.

"Disappointing right now, but the best is yet to come."

Moving her ranking back towards the top 20 and therefore avoiding these match-ups in the early rounds should be a priority for Raducanu, who has few points to defend in the coming months.

The hope must also be that her new coaching partnership with Spaniard Francisco Roig endures after a positive start.

"Raducanu will go away with her whole team and analyse this," said Henman. "She was up against a top-10 player, one of the best out there, and there has been a lot of positives over this hard-court season, but this was a bit of a reality check.

"A difficult day but Raducanu will learn a lot from this. I thought Rybakina was outstanding from the word go.

"She came out with that aggressive ball-striking, which is her bread and butter. It's why she is a Grand Slam champion.

"She really went after Raducanu's serve, got that early break and the momentum just built and built.

"It was a very complete and consistent performance from Rybakina. It was a bit of a statement victory for her."

Bartoli: Raducanu will learn playing top players

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli believes Raducanu will learn from taking on the best players in the world.

"What is very positive, is Raducanu started her American swing all the way back in Washington - she played non-stop tennis, without getting an injury," said the former US Open quarter-finalist.

"She played really good tennis and, yes, she's lost to top-10 players, but that's nothing to be ashamed of.

"It's just the beginning of points against the top ball-strikers that she struggles a bit with.

"But who wouldn't struggle with that? I was courtside and the ball was coming back so fast from Rybakina, and so constantly.

"The more you play against the top players, the more you learn, and we will then see her get off the mark a bit quicker."

Did Raducanu get her tactics wrong?

Former Wimbledon junior champion Laura Robson feels Raducanu did not commit tactically, allowing Rybakina to step in and take control.

"Rybakina has played a great match there. In terms of her groundstrokes, she was playing so freely, going for her shots. She was never rushed, that was the big thing that stood out," said Robson.

"Raducanu wasn't committed tactically. At times it looked like she was trying to hit big, but then the next point she'd take half a step back.

"It gave Rybakina this easy rhythm to work with, and she was just able to put so much pressure on Raducanu."

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