Emma Raducanu has shown her true colours after her Wimbledon 2024 loss to Lulu Sun – heading straight back to the practice courts to hone in on her skills. The 21-year-old tennis sensation was hoping for a better finish at this summer’s Grand Slam, but was unfortunately knocked out in the round of 16 by the New Zealand native.
Raducanu started strong in the tournament, beating Renata Zarazua 7-6, 6-3 in her opening match before taking Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-2 in the second. The third-round would see the youngster propser over Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3, before she was bettered by Sun 2-6, 7-5, 2-6 in the round of 16.
It comes as Raducanu’s best finish at Wimbledon in her career to date, also reaching the fourth-round back in 2021 before being knocked out by Ajla Tomljanović. Determined not to dwell on the tournament however, the GB star has shared that she’s straight back to the courts ahead of the hard court season.
Taking to the stories section of her Instagram page, Raducanu was all smiles as she shared a snap of herself alongside Francesca Jones on the courts, captioning the post “Tennis > tea” by using emojis. The duo were later snapped enjoying a coffee together in London after practice.
23–year-old Jones returned to Wimbledon this year via a wildcard spot after a two-year absence from the competition – having only participated once in her career back in 2021, where she was knocked out in the first round by Coco Gauff. 2024’s tournament would sadly be a similar state of affairs for the Bradford-born tennis player though, as she was eliminated by Petra Martić in her opener.
Despite boosted confidence through winning the first game 6-3, Martic would learn from her mistakes and punish Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the second and third, sending her home with nothing to show from her tournament endeavours.
Raducanu will be hoping for more success on the hard courts of North America when the season lands later this month. She’ll kick off her stateside tour at Washington DC’s Mubadala Citi Open come July 29, with stiff competition in the likes of Ons Jabeur and Madison Keys.
She managed to make it to the quarter-finals in her maiden appearance back in 2022, and her return will be her first game back on the hard courts since the BNP Paribas Open back in February, following an impressive 7-3 record on grass over the summer.
The youngster will also no doubt be looking to add her second Grand Slam title to her resume when the US Open returns in August, having previously won the competition in 2021 – beating Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
