Emma Raducanu was straight back to practicing for the hard court season, looking to put her Wimbledon round of 16 loss to Lulu Sun in the rear-view mirror
After losing to Lulu Sun in Wimbledon 2024, Emma Raducanu showed her true colors by returning immediately to the practice courts to improve her game. Sadly, the New Zealander eliminated the 21-year-old tennis phenom in the round of 16 of this summer’s Grand Slam, leaving him expecting for a better result.
In her opening round of the competition, Raducanu defeated Renata Zarazua 7-6, 6-3. In the second encounter, she defeated Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-2. The teenage player defeated Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3 in the third round. In the round of sixteen, Sun defeated her 2-6, 7-5, 2-6.
This is Raducanu’s greatest Wimbledon result to date; in 2021, she had also advanced to the fourth round before losing to Ajla Tomljanović. The GB player, who is determined not to focus on the competition, has revealed that she will return to the courts as soon as the hard court season begins.
Taking to Instagram Stories, Raducanu was beaming as she uploaded a photo of herself and Francesca Jones on the tennis courts with the caption “Tennis > tea” and emojis. The pair was then seen in London having coffee together following practice.
The 23-year-old Jones made her comeback to Wimbledon this year via a wildcard berth after a two-year hiatus. During her career, she had only played once, in 2021, losing to Coco Gauff in the opening round. Unfortunately, the tennis player from Bradford would experience a same fate in 2024’s competition, when Petra Martić defeated her in her opening set.
Although winning the first game 6-3 gave her more confidence, Martic would learn from her errors and punish Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the second and third games, sending her home empty-handed from her tournament endeavors.
When the season begins later this month, Raducanu will be expecting for even more success on the hard courts of North America. On July 29, she will begin her domestic tour in the Mubadala Citi Open in Washington, DC, up against tough competition from players like Madison Keys and Ons Jabeur.
After an outstanding 7-3 record on grass during the summer, she advanced to the quarterfinals in her first appearance back in 2022. This will be her first match back on hard courts since the BNP Paribas Open in February.
Upon the US Open’s return in August, the young player will undoubtedly be hoping to add another Grand Slam victory to her record. She won the competition in 2021, defeating Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the championship match.
