Newly reinstated British no.1 Emma Raducanu saw her Queen’s run come to an end in a straight sets defeat to Qinwen Zheng.
The 22-year-old produced a brilliant start to her second set as the Olympic champion and top seed from China ran into several issues, but was unable to make it count and missed out on a spot in the LTA’s HSBC Championship semi-finals with a 6-2 6-4 loss.
Raducanu had faced several back issues coming into the WTA 500 event and was forced to call the physio after her first set in the quarterfinal but noted that she was not overly concerned by the returned flare up.
“I have been managing it pretty well over the last few weeks, but I guess as the week goes on it just tests it out and I just felt it,” she said.
“They took me off court and taped it to give me some extra stability, and some painkillers.
“I have had back issues before. I think it’s just a vulnerability of mine and I know I need to take good care of it.
“I’m in awe of her, to feel that love for the game is really precious” 🥹❤️
When Joanie met, played with and inspired her hero @EmmaRaducanu pic.twitter.com/7iUpiV4FLl
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 13, 2025
“I’m not overly concerned that it’s something serious, but I know it’s something that’s very annoying and needs proper and careful management.”
Zheng was the commander of play during the opening set but Raducanu continued to push her opponent in each of her service games, as both players threatened to break throughout.
The top left corner seemed to be Zheng’s weak spot and Raducanu learnt that early on, consistently winning points in that area whilst employing her backhand slice to come from three break points down and win her service game.
Zheng fell into a bit of an issue with her shoes, having not played on grass much before and needing to manage a change of shoe half way through the first set.
The break in play looked like it had all turned out well for Raducanu who managed to bounce back to level the game, but it eventually turned into the break Zheng needed.
With the Brit’s return slipping, Zheng took flight and found her rhythm to break once more and take the set.
“Returning is one of my big strengths, and I think Qinwen served really well,” she said. “I didn’t see many second serves and she hit her spots really well in some big moments.
“Credit to her. She kind of took away one of my bigger strengths.
“I think I have a lot of work to do, to be honest.”
Raducanu came out in the second set and immediately broke Zheng, courtesy of some well placed shots down the tramline.
With several racket issues seeping into Zheng’s play and as Raducanu went two breaks up in the second set, the world no.5 began to panic on the other side of the court and was evidently struggling to find the same accuracy and power she had in her first set.
But the zing of Zheng’s serve returned as quickly as it had left, and the bleak patch soon subsided as the Olympic champion began to turn around her second set and level the game.
The Brit had one last chance to save her semi-final hopes, serving to halt Zheng’s chance at going through, but double faults and nerves once again seeped through and although the British no.1 was able to come from three match points down, ultimately bowed out of Queen’s.
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