Emma Raducanu OUT of Wimbledon despite brave effort against world No1 Aryna Sabalenka
Well, you attempt to do something more miraculous, more fantastical still.
9
Emma Raducanu was knocked out of Wimbledon by the world No1 Aryna Sabalenka
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
9
Sabalenka proved just too strong
Credit: Getty
And here at a volcanic
There have been plenty of failures for Raducanu since her extraordinary US Open triumph of 2021 - but none as glorious as this one.
Against world No1 Aryna Sabalenka - the grunting Belarusian wallop merchant who has been the dominant force in the women's game for the past 18 months -
But for a player who has never beaten anyone in the world's top three, this was the feistiest of defeats.
That Sabalenka prevailed 7-6 6-4 doesn't even scratch the surface.
But it was Sabalenka who clinched a last-16 clash with Belgium's Elise Mertens.
This three-time Major champion has reached at least the quarter-finals in her last ten Major appearances and it will be a shock if she doesn't win her first Wimbledon title next weekend.
Most read in Tennis
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
Sabalenka hits a tennis ball with extraordinary power and she roars at every point like Godzilla with a flesh wound. She is a phenomenal opponent for any woman.
Yet Raducanu went toe-to-toe for two hours, only wilting at the very last.
Emma Raducanu jokes 'I wouldn't know about heartbreak' after Olivia Rodrigo watches her Wimbledon win
It is easy to forget that when Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title at Flushing Meadows, she did not drop a set but did not face any top-ten player.
This was an entirely different test to anything she faced in the Big Apple and she had a very good go at passing it.
Raducanu said Wednesday's defeat of 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova had been her best performance "in a long time" - and it was probably her most significant result since her 2021 fairytale of New York.
This, however, was a major step up in class - Sabalenka has been the dominant force in the women's game for the past 18 months, a powerful, aggressive shotmaker who can intimidate the best of them.
Still, Raducanu forced a break point in the opening game with a belting forehand return winner - only for Sabalenka to save it with three mighty serves.
The Centre Court roof had been closed before the 8pm start after
Raducanu's serve was firing early on, she was thumping aces of her own and relishing some high-quality exchanges.
In the fifth game, Raducanu crowbarred out another opportunity - with a stinging winner down the line - again, Sabalenka thwarted her with another huge ace.
But the Brit stuck at her task, forced two more break points - and then repelled another fierce serve before Sabalenka netted.
9
Wimbledon 2025 LIVE -
The crowd, subdued at first, erupted as Raducanu edged in front. Soon, they would be roaring every point she won.
There was zero evidence of any stage fright. We knew full well that this is a young woman capable of seizing the biggest moments, of conjuring impossibilities from the heavens.
Her serves had been like guided missiles in the opening three games - locating chalkdust at high velocity.
Then that service spluttered, her forehand went wonky and Sabalenka, in predatory fashion, broke her to love.
Soon, Raducanu was serving to stay in the opening set, the anxiety in the crowd palpable, and the Brit's forehand continually clearing the baseline.
But at set point down she found another ace - then she survived six more, fingernails on the cliff-edge, before a wonderful cross-court winner earned her one of her own.
Finally, on the eighth deuce of the game, Raducanu held.
Sabalenka's vain cries became bloodcurdling as the momentum shifted towards the Brit.
Raducanu cracked successive winners down the line, then slipped at the net and paused to ice her right thigh, before she forced two break-points of her own - taking the second to an ear-splitting din.
As the Brit served for the set, Sabalenka roared back, seized three break points and took the third to earn a tie-break.
The breaker was tight - and loud - Raducanu forced the first set point but Sabalenka rescued it with a drop shot before she clinched an extraordinary set with a deft volley.
The feeling was that having fallen so agonisingly short in the opener, Raducanu might crumble.
She did not, breaking Sabalenka for 3-1, when the current US Open champion netted.
Read more on the Irish Sun
Then Sabalenka had to save two more break points to avoid a 5-1 deficit.
But once she held, the final, decisive momentum shift arrived and the Belarusian reeled off five successive games to reach round four.
9
Raducanu played arguably her best tennis since the 2021 US Open
Credit: Getty
9
Raducanu took a fall in the first set but thankfully was fine to continue
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
9
Raducanu had plenty to roar about at times in the match, especially in the second set
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
9
Raducanu put on a superb performance under the Centre Court roof
Credit: AFP
9
There was a warm embrace between the pair at the net
Credit: Getty
9
Raducanu got a hero's send-off after her valiant defeat
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
28 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Make or break: Players who had their career made by a Lions tour or broken by it
Who was made by the Lions ? Who, if anyone, had their downfall because of touring down in the southern hemisphere? Saying any player saw the Lions as make or break for their career is a difficult concept. Most, if not all, players are established internationals, stars in their home country by the time they get called up to tour. Even those who had tour stinkers have, for the most part, gone on to have good international careers afterwards. Still, there are players who saw their reputation enhanced by the Lions. Is there anyone remembered more for their exploits in red rather than their national strip? As for the breaks, did anyone really have their career ended because of the Lions? There aren't a lot of examples. But there have been plenty of difficult tours for individuals, either on the pitch or, in one noteworthy example at least, because of their legendary off-field antics. READ MORE Make Rob Kearney To say the 2009 Lions tour 'made' Rob Kearney 's career does a disservice to what came before. When Ireland won the Grand Slam that year, the Co Louth native started every game. He was also Leinster's starting fullback during their Heineken Cup run that year, only for injury to see him miss the Croke Park semi-final against Munster. He returned to a bench role for the final, Isa Nacewa lining out at 15. Yet there is no disputing that Kearney went to South Africa that summer a first-choice international, but returned a bona fide star. Lee Byrne was the named the starting 15 for the first Test. Kearney revealed in a recent interview that Byrne was offered a heads-up prior to the selection meeting via a text from assistant coach Rob Howley. Kearney's Leinster team-mate Luke Fitzgerald spotted the message while sitting near Byrne. Rob Kearney, of the Lions catches the ball as Ricky Januarie challenges. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty However, when Byrne went off injured before half-time, Kearney entered the fray. He was promoted into the starting backfield for the second Test, a game in which he announced his arrival as one of the game's better fullbacks thanks to his aerial dominance. Kearney also scored the Lions' only try of the game in an infamous contest which ended in a last-second defeat after Morne Steyn punished Ronan O'Gara's aerial infringement. Had the Lions won that series, Kearney's ability to defuse a Springbok strength, the high bomb, would have been vital. Two years into his international career at that stage, he went on to earn just shy of 100 caps for Ireland, winning four Six Nations titles alongside four European crowns with Leinster. Alex Corbisiero We may well be stretching the definition of a Lions series 'making' someone's career with England prop Corbisiero. Initially, his prospects of making the 2013 tour to Australia looked nullified by a knee injury which ruled him out of the entirety of that year's Six Nations. British and Irish Lions prop Alex Corbisiero (centre L) is congratulated by teammate Richard Hibbard (centre R) after scoring a try against Australia. Photograph: William West/AFP via Getty Yet when Cian Healy went down in the second tour game against the Western Force, Corbisiero's phone rang. His subsequent contribution is difficult to understate, even if scrum penalties might not be everyone's idea of beautiful rugby. While he started the first Test, it was Corbisiero's dominance in the third which earned him a place in propping folklore. He got on the end of the first-minute try which set the tone for the Lions' dominance, but his set-piece work is what stands out. Such was the extent of the Lions' upper hand at the scrum, referee Romain Poite sent Wallaby tighthead Ben Alexander to the bin with fewer than 25 minutes on the clock. Alexander's scrummaging nemesis? Corbisiero. As much as the England prop added value with his early five-pointer, Leigh Halfpenny kicked nine points in the first half alone thanks to three scrum penalties. Corbisiero's frontrow team-mates Adam Jones and Richard Hibbard could rightly claim their credit for the damage, as should the entire scrummaging eight. Yet the story of the overlooked late call-up catapulted into Test dominance has long been romanticised. Especially as Corbisiero only made two further international appearances after that tour, injuries curtailing his career. The prop has Six Nations and Premiership medals, but nothing boosted his reputation as much as his Lions stint. Willie John McBride Low-hanging fruit? Maybe. But be honest, is it the Ballymena forward's exploits in the green of Ireland or red of the Lions which have earned him more renown? In today's professional era, with a better developed and marketed international game, McBride may well have been as much of an Irish star as a Lions one. Given the hype machine that is Lions inc, they do a much better job of eulogising his five tours than Irish rugby has done with his 63 national caps. Willie John McBride leads out the Lions against South Africa. Photograph:: Allsport UK McBride was a Lion in 1962, 1966, 1968, 1971 and 1974. His 17 Lions Tests and 70 appearances in red are both records which, given today's era of shorter tours, will almost certainly never be broken. The Ulsterman was part of the infamous 2-1 victory over New Zealand in 1971, while his leadership of the 1974 tour is arguably his most lauded contribution. Rugby loves some nostalgic amateur violence, hence the popularity of McBride's '99' call, an instruction to raise fists and fight back against what was seen as Springbok thuggery. Perhaps again a measure of the Lions modern marketing ability, that tour is remembered by some for 99 and a 3-0 win as much as the controversy of travelling to apartheid South Africa. A more modern measure of McBride's Lions status is the authority given to him by others. Prior to this tour, McBride said the number of players travelling who were born outside the four countries 'bothered' him. Whether we agree with him or not, it is a marker of McBride's standing in Lions folklore that the comments of a man who last wore the red shirt in 1974 got the attention they did. Break Austin Healy The England scrumhalf was never one to say nothing when something could be said. But the Lions tour of Australia in 2001 went badly wrong for several reasons with Healy in the eye of the storm. Coach for the tour Graham Henry later wrote of 'an age-old story. Betraying trust and betraying your mates for 30 pieces of silver.' Discontent followed the squad from the beginning when Henry picked 10 Welsh players to tour when they were hammered by England that year 46-12. The Lions had beaten Australia in the first Test match in The Gabba before losing the second in Colonial stadium. Rob Howley had been first choice scrumhalf for those games. Austin Healy of the Lions in 2001. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Although the Leicester and England star withdrew from the Test decider against Australia because of a back injury, Healy's column in the Guardian made all the news and drew the ire of the Lions management. BBC columnist Matt Dawson had already criticised the style of management and training on the tour. When Healy made negative remarks about Australian weather, the country's male population and took a swipe at Wallabies lock Justin Harrison, whom he labelled a 'plod' and a 'plank', all hell broke loose. A poetic end to the controversy arrived in the final Test which Australia won, with Harrison's lineout steal near the end averting a potential Lions try that could have won the game and the series. When Healy returned home he brought out his own book Lions, Tigers and Roses, telling stories of how some players on the tour had referred to Henry as 'that Kiwi runt'. And Harrison, well the 'ape, plod and plank' joined Ulster in 2005 on a three-year contract. Stuart Hogg The 2013 tour to Australia probably came too early for one of Scotland's outstanding players. Distantly related to footballer George Best, Hogg was a charismatic fullback but as a young 20-year-old, the same age as Henry Pollock is on this year's tour, his selection came well before his peak. He played five of the Lions' warm-up games but failed to make a Test team. Then when the 2017 tour to New Zealand arrived four years later, thoughts turned to the game-changing back, who was then an influential figure with Scotland. Hogg had an underwhelming first game-and-a-half before being injured by an accidental stray elbow from team-mate Conor Murray, instantly ending his tour and his chance to prove himself on the Test match stage. Stuart Hogg got injured in the 2017 tour of New Zealand. Photograph: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Four years later on the 2021 tour to South Africa, Hogg was picked at fullback in the 17-22 first Test win. He started again in the second game against the Springboks but the Lions lost 27-9. But by the third Test in Cape Town, Warren Gatland had seen enough and Hogg didn't even make the matchday squad with Welsh back Liam Williams starting and England's Elliot Daly as utility backup on the bench. Hogg never made the running impact of which he was capable. There were also defensive howlers in the Test matches and he never quite gave certainty, especially under some high balls. Then with Exeter Chiefs and the Six Nations Player of the Year in successive seasons in 2016 and 2017, one of Scotland's most talented players failed to roar as a Lion. Blair 'Paddy' Mayne A Lions tourist in 1938, Mayne is better known these for his depiction in the BBC docudrama SAS: Rogue Heroes as one of the founding members of the infamous unit during the second World War. One of the Originals in the Special Air Service's (SAS) early era, Blair 'Paddy' Mayne, reputedly the hardest-drinking, freest-swinging firebrand ever to don a Lions jersey, but also a decorated second World War hero Originally from Newtownards, Mayne debuted for Ireland in 1937, going on to earn six caps and selection for the next year's tour of South Africa. While there, he gained infamy for smashing team-mates' hotel rooms, hunting a springbok (the animal, not a rugby player) and helping to temporarily free a convict who was working on the construction of the Ellis Park Stadium. So the story goes, when the con was found a day after being released by Mayne and co, he was found wearing a jacket with the Ulster secondrow's name stitched on the collar. In the springbok incident, Mayne reportedly left the animal's carcass outside the room of the South African manager. It was not a foreshadowing of what was to come, the Lions losing the series 2-1. Knowing he would be in trouble given his significant rap sheet, Mayne disappeared from the squad, not resurfacing until everyone made for the ship home. When war broke out in 1939, Mayne joined up with the Royal Ulster Rifles. He was later recommended to David Stirling when the SAS was formed, the series of events depicted by the BBC show which was released in 2022. As much as war interfered with Mayne's rugby career, given his legendary off-field behaviour, he would have done well to stay in the good books long enough to earn a second Lions tour in an alternative version of history.
Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard' – Aryna Sabalenka praise for beaten Emma Raducanu
The 22-year-old played some electrifying tennis under the roof on Centre Court but was unable to apply the finishing touches, eventually going down 7-6 (6) 6-4 after exactly two hours. The first set alone took 74 minutes, with Raducanu saving seven set points and creating one of her own, while she led 4-1 in the second before Sabalenka recovered to set up a fourth-round clash with Elise Mertens. Raducanu will now drop to British number three behind Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, who is the last home woman left in singles, but that will not be the case for long if she can maintain this level. The former US Open champion has made it her goal to close the gap to the world's best and, having lost twice heavily to Iga Swiatek in the other two grand slams this year, she can feel very differently after her performance here. 'She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win,' said Sabalenka. 'I fight for every point like crazy. 'I'm super happy to see her healthy and back on track. I'm pretty sure that she will be back in the top 10 soon. 'What an atmosphere, my ears are still hurting. I was telling myself, just pretend they're cheering for you, and I was having goosebumps.' Unlike Jack Draper, Raducanu is naturally at home on grass, with her exceptional ability to take the ball early, particularly on return, mitigating her lack of pure power. She gave Sabalenka a decent run for her money in their only previous meeting, in Indian Wells last spring, and a clean return winner off a second serve in the opening game showed the Belarusian that she very much meant business. Raducanu played an almost flawless match to beat former champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round and, although this was a very different prospect, the 22-year-old once more appeared calm and clear-minded. She had the top seed under pressure again in the fifth game, bringing up three more break points and taking the third when Sabalenka netted a backhand. That was greeted by a huge roar from the packed stands, but Raducanu then made her first missteps serving at 4-3 to hand the advantage back amid a run of eight points in a row for Sabalenka. A forehand winner played from virtually sitting down by Raducanu earned a clap from Sabalenka but too many errors had crept into the home favourite's game and a netted forehand gave her opponent a first set point. She saved that with an ace, and Sabalenka remarkably missed backhands on every one of six more opportunities before Raducanu finally held in one of Centre Court's more memorable games. It seemed impossible for it not to be a key moment, and Sabalenka had a face of thunder after watching two Raducanu passing shots fly beyond her reach. Concern replaced cheers when Raducanu suffered a nasty slip in retrieving a short ball, briefly staying down clutching her left hip before gingerly getting to her feet. It did not stop her creating two break points, though, and Sabalenka overhit a backhand to leave her opponent serving for the set. This time Sabalenka did not let Raducanu off the hook, forcing a tie-break, where a drive volley hooked wide of an open court at 5-4 looked like it might have cost the world number one when she then netted a return to give Raducanu a first set point. But Sabalenka saved it in style with a drop shot before finally taking her eighth opportunity, this time making no mistake at the net. It was important for Raducanu to recover from the disappointment quickly, and she did, producing two strong holds of serve and taking advantage of a dip from Sabalenka to move 4-1 ahead in the second set. Sabalenka has been far and away the best player in the world over the last year but suddenly she was struggling to live with Raducanu, who played a series of sublime points to create a chance to win a fourth game in a row only to just miss with a forehand. Had she taken it, a deciding set was most certainly on the cards, but Sabalenka, who is the only top-six seed left in the tournament, barged the door wide open and charged through it, reeling off five games in a row.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Emma Raducanu goes down swinging in thrilling loss to Aryna Sabalenka
Emma Raducanu reminded the tennis world what a special talent she is before her Wimbledon hopes were ended with a narrow loss to world number one Aryna Sabalenka. The 22-year-old played some electrifying tennis under the roof on Centre Court but was unable to apply the finishing touches, eventually going down 7-6 (6) 6-4 after exactly two hours. The first set alone took 74 minutes, with Raducanu saving seven set points and creating one of her own, while she led 4-1 in the second before Sabalenka recovered to set up a fourth-round clash with Elise Mertens. Raducanu will now drop to British number three behind Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, who is the last home woman left in singles, but that will not be the case for long if she can maintain this level. The former US Open champion has made it her goal to close the gap to the world's best and, having lost twice heavily to Iga Swiatek in the other two grand slams this year, she can feel very differently after her performance here. 'She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win,' said Sabalenka. 'I fight for every point like crazy. 'What an atmosphere, my ears are still hurting. I was telling myself, just pretend they're cheering for you, and I was having goosebumps.' Unlike Jack Draper, Raducanu is naturally at home on grass, with her exceptional ability to take the ball early, particularly on return, mitigating her lack of pure power. She gave Sabalenka a decent run for her money in their only previous meeting, in Indian Wells last spring, and a clean return winner off a second serve in the opening game showed the Belarusian that she very much meant business. Raducanu played an almost flawless match to beat former champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round and, although this was a very different prospect, the 22-year-old once more appeared calm and clear-minded. She had the top seed under pressure again in the fifth game, bringing up three more break points and taking the third when Sabalenka netted a backhand. That was greeted by a huge roar from the packed stands, but Raducanu then made her first missteps serving at 4-3 to hand the advantage back amid a run of eight points in a row for Sabalenka. A forehand winner played from virtually sitting down by Raducanu earned a clap from Sabalenka but too many errors had crept into the home favourite's game and a netted forehand gave her opponent a first set point. She saved that with an ace, and Sabalenka remarkably missed backhands on every one of six more opportunities before Raducanu finally held in one of Centre Court's more memorable games. It seemed impossible for it not to be a key moment, and Sabalenka had a face of thunder after watching two Raducanu passing shots fly beyond her reach. Concern replaced cheers when Raducanu suffered a nasty slip in retrieving a short ball, briefly staying down clutching her left hip before gingerly getting to her feet. It did not stop her creating two break points, though, and Sabalenka overhit a backhand to leave her opponent serving for the set. This time Sabalenka did not let Raducanu off the hook, forcing a tie-break, where a drive volley hooked wide of an open court at 5-4 looked like it might have cost the world number one when she then netted a return to give Raducanu a first set point. But Sabalenka saved it in style with a drop shot before finally taking her eighth opportunity, this time making no mistake at the net. It was important for Raducanu to recover from the disappointment quickly, and she did, producing two strong holds of serve and taking advantage of a dip from Sabalenka to move 4-1 ahead in the second set. Sabalenka has been far and away the best player in the world over the last year but suddenly she was struggling to live with Raducanu, who played a series of sublime points to create a chance to win a fourth game in a row only to just miss with a forehand. Had she taken it, a deciding set was most certainly on the cards, but Sabalenka, who is the only top-six seed left in the tournament, barged the door wide open and charged through it, reeling off five games in a row.
