It was another early round exit for the British No. 1 star, who had a lot of hopes at the ongoing French Open 2026 event. Emma Raducanu was eliminated in the first round of the French Open on Sunday, falling 6-0, 7-6(4) to Argentina’s Solana Sierra at Roland Garros.
French Open: Another early exit for US Open champion Emma Raducanu; bageled in first set by clay specialist
The 23-year-old, playing her first match since early March after recovering from a post-viral illness, looked rusty and was dominated in the opening set, which lasted just 24-25 minutes. She mounted a fightback in the second set, recovering from deficits of 1-4 and 3-5 to force a tiebreak, but Sierra held firm to claim her first main-draw victory at the clay-court Grand Slam.
Raducanu, unseeded after her ranking drop due to the layoff, had been handed a challenging opener against the clay-court specialist. The result extends Raducanu’s pattern of early Grand Slam exits since her stunning 2021 US Open triumph. She will now shift focus to the grass-court season, beginning with Queen’s Club ahead of Wimbledon. Sierra advances to face the winner of Jasmine Paolini or Dayana Yastremska in the second round.
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