Raducanu routed by Swiatek again as French Open hopes crushed in straight sets

28 May 2025, 17:49 | Updated: 28 May 2025, 18:11

Emma Raducanu suffered more pain at the hands of Iga Swiatek as she was dumped out of the French Open.

The 22-year-old stay in the competition came to a brutal end in the second round, 6-1 6-2, at the hands of the four-time champion.

Raducanu, who was one of six British players to get through the first round at Roland Garros, did not appear to be suffering any fitness issues following her victory over Wang Xinyu on Monday.

But the former US Open champion provided a meek display on her Court Philippe-Chatrier debut and has now lost all five meetings with Swiatek without winning a set.

The most recent of those was still fresh in the memory, a 6-1 6-0 pasting at the Australian Open earlier this year, and Swiatek threatened a repeat when she raced away with the first set.

Swiatek, nicknamed the 'Queen of Clay', is unbeaten at the tournament since 2021, but has not reached a final since Paris last year and has slipped to number five in the world.

So there were at least some small reasons for optimism for Raducanu, who let out a shriek of relief when she held her opening service game.

But her next service display was tame, giving Swiatek - who was hardly playing her best tennis herself - an easy break.

Raducanu made a horrible mess of an overhead to gift Swiatek a 5-1 lead and the 23-year-old clinched the set with an ace.

The British number two held at the start of the second, but her opponent had by now found her range and a flurry of winners subsequently secured a break to love.

There were fleeting moments of hope but three break points came and went, as Raducanu's error count began to climb steadily.

Swiatek broke again for 5-2 and a flashing winner - her 31st of the contest - wrapped up a comprehensive win in just an hour and 19 minutes.