Raducanu takes positives from Queen’s final defeat ahead of Wimbledon
11 reported
Emma Raducanu lost to Croatia's Donna Vekic in the Queen's final, unable to save a fifth Championship point. The 23-year-old British number one reached the final without dropping a set but missed out on her first WTA Tour title since the 2021 US Open. Raducanu said the loss stings but she will try to get over it quickly. BBC Sport reviewed positives from her grass-court season, including playing with freedom on a surface that suits her game. Raducanu credited her reappointed coach Andrew Richardson for helping her play the brand of tennis she wants, calling it "the new Emma." She also showed resilience by recovering in the second set against Vekic, something she said she has not always done in past years. Raducanu now looks unlikely to play the WTA event in Nottingham, with Wimbledon starting in a fortnight.
What’s reported
Emma Raducanu lost to Donna Vekic in the Queen's final, unable to save a fifth Championship point.
Raducanu reached the final without dropping a set.
She has not won a WTA Tour title since the 2021 US Open.
Raducanu said: "Right now it obviously really stings, so I'm just going to try and let myself feel it today – but try and get over it pretty quick."
She beat top-20 players Sorana Cirstea and Iva Jovic on the way to the final.
Raducanu said: "I think I'm playing pretty freely, pretty aggressively, but finding the right balance."
Coach Andrew Richardson was reappointed until the end of the season; under him Raducanu has won 14 of 17 matches across four tournaments.
Raducanu said: "I wouldn't say it's necessarily the old Emma. I think it's the new Emma."
She said: "I managed to get myself back into the second set and I'm proud of how I fought. That's not something that in the past years I have always done, so that's a positive."
Raducanu now looks unlikely to play the WTA event in Nottingham starting Monday.
Wimbledon starts in a fortnight.
Key figures
Emma Raducanu (British number one tennis player)
Donna Vekic (Croatian tennis player)
Andrew Richardson (Raducanu's coach)
Sorana Cirstea (Romanian tennis player)
Iva Jovic (American tennis player)
Sources: BBC News
