Emma Raducanu crashes out of Madrid Open in first round

Emma Raducanu saw the progress made at the recent Stuttgart Open stall after she collapsed to a straight-sets defeat by Maria Lourdes Carle at the Madrid Open.

Raducanu exited last week’s tournament in Germany in the quarter-finals but that encouraging form deserted her on Wednesday as she was crushed 6-2 6-2 by her Argentinian opponent, who is ranked 83 in the world.

Playing with strapping around the front of her left knee, the 2021 US Open champion produced an error-strewn display on the clay at Manzanares Park.

Raducanu’s progress in Stuttgart was only halted by world number one Iga Swiatek, raising hopes that she would progress deep into the draw this week.

The 21-year-old, who endured an injury-hit 2023, was viewed as a strong favourite against qualifier Carle only to make 19 unforced errors in the first set alone.

And, having spoken before the tournament of her tiredness due to the volume of matches this year, she was unable to rally in an equally one-sided second set.