French Open 2026: Emma Raducanu’s first-round defeat not unexpected

Raducanu’s defeat to Sierra was not a surprise in itself, despite the Briton sitting 29 places above her in the world rankings.

Raducanu has played just one match since Indian Wells at the beginning of March, and that only came in an emphatic defeat to France’s Diane Parry in Strasbourg last week.

Post-viral problems continued to have lasting effects, and he was struggling with a cough in Paris.

A healthy Sierra, on the other hand, has lots of matches in his legs and more rhythm in his racket.

The difference in Raducanu’s first set was very clear.

The 23-year-old’s tactic of striking aggressively early in rallies and his reluctance to patiently wait for attacking opportunities highlighted his willingness to flank his opponent.

His lack of field time and the 30-degree heat in Paris meant it made sense for Raducanu to try to finish the points quickly.

However, his timing was terrible and led to many unforced errors.

“I felt like the conditions were extremely lively and I felt like I wasn’t confident in my shots and didn’t feel like I had control of the ball,” Raducanu said.

“It was a really difficult setup for me as I haven’t played many matches.

“I think there was probably a little lightness in the matches, a little lightness in confidence coming into the tournament.”

Sierra was always going to present a tough test, especially at this early stage of Raducanu’s latest comeback.

Sierra, 21, who started playing on red clay at the age of three, recently showed off her talent by pushing French Open champion Coco Gauff in Rome.