Raducanu loses French Open first round to Sierra

Emma Raducanu exited the French Open in the first round on Sunday, losing 6-0, 7-6 (4) to Argentina's Solana Sierra at Roland Garros in Paris. The 23-year-old British number one, playing in just her third match in over two months after a post-viral illness sidelined her since early March, struggled with consistency throughout the 1-hour, 45-minute contest.

The first set lasted only 25 minutes, with Raducanu failing to win a single game. She recorded zero winners against 15 unforced errors in that set alone, spraying the ball to all corners of the court as Sierra, a clay-court specialist ranked 68th in the world, broke serve three times. Raducanu, ranked 39th, appeared to be heading for a particularly lopsided defeat when she fell behind 4-1 in the second set.

However, she began to find a foothold, elongating rallies and drawing errors from her opponent. She leveled the set at 5-5 and broke Sierra when the Argentine served for the match, forcing a tiebreak. Sierra surged to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak, and although Raducanu managed to close to 5-4, she could not complete the comeback. She finished the match with 42 unforced errors.

The defeat marked Raducanu's first opening-round...