Emma Raducanu loses Queen's final to Donna Vekic despite battling display by British No 1

Emma Raducanu was beaten by Croatia's Donna Vekic in the women's singles final of Queen's despite a battling display by the British No 1.

Raducanu was completely overpowered in the opening set by the 29-year-old, ranked 76th in the world, as Vekic took it 6-0.

But Raducanu dug in and secured a double-break advantage in the second set as she looked to force a decider, until Vekic found her earlier form once more to claim four games on the spin and take things to a tie-break.

Vekic eventually converted a fifth championship point to secure the title with a 6-0 7-6 (8-6) victory.

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Rain earlier in the tournament resulted in Raducanu having to power through two matches on Saturday, beating Kamilla Rakhimova in the quarter-finals and then American sixth seed Iva Jovic in the semis - both done in straight sets - to reach the first grass-court final of her career and third at tour level.

The former US Open champion had spent two hours and 19 minutes longer on court the previous day than her opponent, who needed just one match - a swift 6-1 6-3 win over fellow Brit Katie Boulter - to reach the final.

Vekic, who only got into ​the main draw as a ‌lucky loser after defeat in qualifying, saved two set points of Raducanu's in the 10th game of the second set before going on to claim her first title since 2023.

Despite falling short in her bid for a dream title on home soil, Raducanu chose to focus on the positives after a challenging 2026 season, having missed two and a half months with a post-viral illness and won just one match since March before arriving at Queen's.

"It has been an incredible week for me, making the final here in my home city, at my home tournament," Raducanu said after her defeat.

"The support I have received has been incredible, so I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone.

"Today was a really tough match. Donna played extremely well from the start to the finish.

"Thank you for getting me through some tough moments again and for helping me push back in that second set."

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