Emma Raducanu has been knocked out of Wimbledon after suffering a three-set defeat to New Zealander Lulu Sun on Centre Court on Sunday.
Sun won 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 securing herself a spot in the quarterfinals. Despite losing, the match marked the furthest Raducanu has progressed in a Grand Slam since winning the US Open in 2021.
The 21-year-old, who missed last year’s tournament after undergoing surgery on both wrists and an ankle, has been in impressive form on the grass court and had not dropped a single set in her first three matches.
However, Raducanu struggled with Sun’s pace throughout the game, failing to secure the first set as her opponent’s powerful forehand proved too much of a challenge for Raducanu to overcome.
During the second set, the match followed serve as Raducanu fought back to restore parity and take the match to a deciding set.
A fall in the first game of the final set hindered Raducanu’s physical ability as she rolled her ankle and underwent a medical timeout. Sun took advantage and leapt into a lead, finishing the match by winning three consecutive games to secure her ticket into the quarterfinals.
“I’m just incredibly … I don’t even have the words right now,” an emotional Sun said afterwards.
“Walking through to center court, I was just like wow. Looking around and taking it all in for the first time. I’m just super happy. It’s such an amazing experience for me.”
When asked about her opponent, Sun said: “It was a great match against her, she really dug deep in there to [try to] get the win from me.
“I really had to fight tooth and nail against her. She’s obviously going to run for every ball and fight until the end.”
Raducanu was the last Brit standing in the singles tournaments after British No. 1 Katie Boulter was knocked out by compatriot Harriet Dart, who then conceded to Wang Xinyu in the fourth round.
The former U.S. Open winner prepared to enter the mixed doubles competition with Andy Murray in his final appearance at Wimbledon but withdrew due to ongoing struggles with wrist pain on Saturday.
