Emma Raducanu withdraws from tournament hours after losing Queen’s final

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Nottingham Open only a day after her defeat to Donna Vekic in the Queen’s final.

The British No.1 had an impressive run at the London-based tournament, putting a difficult start to the year behind her.

The 23-year-old has improved by 11 places in the world rankings to No.31 following her WTA final appearance.

The HSBC Championship marked a career-first grass-court final, however, she missed her chance to claim a second title following her maiden crown at the US Open in 2021.

Raducanu, in front of a home crowd, was no match for the Croatian as she was dominantly defeated 6-0, 6-7 (8-6).

Vekic took the first set in just 29 minutes as Raducanu went into the second with little motivation, yet managed to fight back, forcing it to a tie-breaker.

The 23-year-old powered through a two-match Saturday and did not drop a set until the showdown.

The top-ranked Brit entered the game wearing a significant amount of strapping on the inside of her left thigh, which she removed in the opening set.

After her impressive route to the final, she said: “What a week! 

“It has been an incredible week for me, making the final here in my home city, at my home tournament.

“The support I have received has been incredible, so I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone.

“Today was a really tough match. Donna played extremely well from the start to the finish.

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“Thank you for getting me through some tough moments again and for helping me push back in that second set.”

Focus on Wimbledon

After a busy schedule, she has now decided not to take part in the Midlands event, where she has no ranking points to defend.

Prior to Queen’s, Raducanu had only one win under her belt since March, after struggling with illness.

She missed major tournaments including the Miami Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open and Linz Open.

However, all eyes are now focused on Wimbledon which starts on June 29, with her Queen’s final appearance hopefully securing a seeding for the Grand Slam tournament.

Raducanu reunited with Andrew Richardson in May, the coach who guided her to US Open glory.

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Despite taking aim at him during the final, telling him ‘Say something, you’re saying nothing’, the partnership has still proved successful.

In her on-court interview, she added: “My team have helped me through some really sticky situations in the past few months, and it honestly means the world to me for them to believe unconditionally. I wouldn’t be here also without them.

“I haven’t really played much this season, but to think I have made two finals so far, which I haven’t done in years, it has to be kind of, in a way, celebrated, and it’s a good achievement for me and I’m proud of it.”

Her next tournament is scheduled to be the Eastbourne Open, starting June 20.