HSBC Championships 2025: Emma Raducanu bows out in quarter-final defeat to top seed Qinwen Zheng
• 2 MINUTE READ
Emma Raducanu’s bid to be crowned the first WTA champion at The Queen’s Club in 52 years came to an end at the hands of top seed and world No.7 Qinwen Zheng.
Raducanu put in a valiant effort against the Paris Olympics champion in front of her home fans, but eventually bowed out in a 6-2, 6-4 defeat in an hour and 50 minutes.
There are now no British players left in the draw after Katie Boulter, Heather Watson and Sonay Kartal all exited in the second round at the HSBC Championships.
Raducanu will now head to the Berlin Open before returning to home soil to compete in the Lexus Eastbourne Open ahead of The Championships, Wimbledon.
"I think it was a tough match," Raducanu reflected after her loss. "I think Qinwen played really well and served well, you know, took one of my bigger strengths away, which is my return."
I had a lot of joy playing here at Queen's. I think the crowd was amazing, the support the whole way through for every match, that was really enjoyable for me.
It was a dominant start from Zheng, who was contesting her first WTA quarter-final on grass.
The top seed dictated play behind her serve - winning 100% of points (16/16) on her first in the opening set to race through her service games, which turning up the pressure on her opponent.
Raducanu found herself 3-2, 40-30 down after a shaky service game that saw Zheng get her first glimpse of a break point after slipping at the net before going to change her shoes mid game.
The break in play saw the Brit fight back to deuce but the Chinese star eventually got the job done as she flashed a backhand winner down the line before going on to seal a second to comfortably take the opener 6-2.
Heading into the tournament at The Queen’s Club, Raducanu spoke openly about her struggles with back spasms over the past few months and it appeared to be causing her issues at the end of the opening set.
After receiving an off-court medical time out, Raducanu returned to the Andy Murray Arena a completely different player as she looked to kick-start the comeback.
Raducanu - who will become the new British No.1 when the rankings update on Monday - was fired up at the start of the second and took her chances as the Olympic champion began to struggle on serve following the re-start.
The world No.37 looked to be on her way to forcing a decider as she stormed out to a double break lead to edge ahead 3-0. However, Zheng channelled all of her experience and class to pull the momentum back in her favour as she recovered the deficit.
A costly double fault from the Brit’s racket at 5-4 down brought up three match points for Zheng as the home crowd tried to rally behind the former Grand Slam champion.
Staring defeat in the eye, Raducanu held her nerve - fending off all three as her opponent made a trio of return errors before the top seed eventually got over the line as the Brit sent a forehand long.
Zheng will play an American opponent in the semi-finals, with Emma Navarro or Amanda Anisimova currently battling it out for a spot in the final four.
Our event partners
Official broadcast partners
Official tour partners
