Emma Raducanu‘s Wimbledon campaign is finished for another year following a disappointing loss to Lulu Sun.
After making the excruciating choice to withdraw from the mixed doubles, ultimately ending Andy Murray‘s Wimbledon career, the former US Open champion would have hoped that the additional time she gave herself to prepare would pay off.
Instead, Raducanu suffered a disheartening defeat to an inspired opponent who blasted victory after winner and took advantage of the home favourite’s shaky serve.
Raducanu got off to a bad start, breaking in the first game of the encounter as the Centre Court fan favourite failed to grasp the job at hand.
In a hesitant manner, the 21-year-old dropped her subsequent service game, but she bounced back with a break of her own to get on the scoreboard and put some pressure on her opponent.
After just 35 minutes of play, Sun, though, regained her composure and broke again following a simple hold to take a 5-2 lead.
Although the New Zealand qualifier might have been excused for feeling anxious throughout her set service, she appeared completely comfortable and concluded the match with a strong statement.
Raducanu made an effort to gain ground early in the second set, but he was still unable to get along with the left-handed Sun.
The New Zealander was tested in the fourth game of the second set but kept her nerve as Raducanu wasted two break points but regained her composure to hold in testing circumstances having been taken to deuce.
An increasingly even contest stayed on serve until the 12th game of the set when Sun finally displayed signs of losing her composure.
In particular, a blasted overhead proved costly as Raducanu pounced to win the set 7–5.
Raducanu would have liked to capitalize on the early momentum she generated in the decider, but she suffered an early setback when she twisted her ankle while attempting to reach the ball with her forehand.
Raducanu seemed understandably hesitant following a protracted medical interruption and dropped her serve right away.
It became worse in the seventh game of the set when Raducanu gave up her serve once more, falling two breaks behind and letting Sun win the match with ease.