Emma Raducanu beaten in French Open first round for first time in her career

By Eleanor Crooks, Press Association Tennis Correspondent, Paris

Emma Raducanu suffered her first opening-round loss at the French Open with an error-strewn display against Argentina’s Solana Sierra.

The British number one opted to return to action for the final couple of weeks of the clay season following two-and-a-half months out with a post-viral illness instead of concentrating on grass but it has not paid off.

She took positives from a narrow loss to Diane Parry in Strasbourg earlier this week, and she at least improved in the second set at a sun-baked Roland Garros before falling to a 6-0 7-6 (4) defeat.

It is only Raducanu’s third time playing in the tournament but this was the first occasion she has failed to make it to the second round.