Emma Raducanu’s French Open campaign ended in the first round as she was beaten 6-0 7-6 (7-4) by Argentina’s Solana Sierra on the opening Sunday at Roland-Garros.
Playing only her second match since March after two and a half months sidelined by a post-viral illness, the British No 1 endured a painful start. Sierra, ranked 68th in the world, claimed the first set in just 25 minutes and left Raducanu with no winners and 15 unforced errors.
Raducanu and her US Open-winning coach Andrew Richardson, who rejoined her this week, could not turn the tide. The British player did win the opening game of the second set but soon fell 4-1 behind. Sierra, 21, comfortable on clay and fresh from a surprise run to the Wimbledon fourth round last year, kept Raducanu at arm’s length for most of the match. Raducanu broke back when Sierra served for the match at 5-4, but Sierra regained control in the tie-break to close out the victory after one hour and 45 minutes on Court 13.
It is the first time in Raducanu’s three appearances at Roland-Garros that she has failed to reach the second round. The 23-year-old now turns her focus to the grass season and hopes for improved fitness and form.
British tennis had brighter moments elsewhere in Paris. Fran (Fran) Jones recorded her first Grand Slam main-draw win, coming from a set down to beat Beatriz Haddad Maia 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2. Ranked 102nd, Jones — who was born with ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia and has three fingers and a thumb on each hand — fought back after losing two set points while serving at 6-5 in the second and then dominated the deciding set, winning six straight games.
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk was visibly emotional after her 6-2 6-3 win over Oksana Selekhmeteva. The 15th seed revealed she had woken to news of a major Russian attack overnight, with a missile coming within around 100 metres of her family’s home in Kyiv. Kostyuk said the images she received that morning weighed heavily on her throughout the match and declined to shake hands with Selekhmeteva at the net after the contest.
Elsewhere, American 26th seed Hailey Baptiste recovered from a set down to defeat former French Open and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.
Looking ahead, the first round continues on Monday with British qualifier Toby Samuel set to face Australian eighth seed Alex de Minaur on Court 14 at 10:00 BST, and Katie Boulter due on Court 8 later in the day against American Akasha Urhobo. Top seeds including Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and newly crowned Italian Open champion Elina Svitolina are also scheduled to play, while former champion Stan Wawrinka and home favourite Gael Monfils prepare for farewell appearances at Roland-Garros.