Emma Raducanu: British No 1 spurns three match points in China Open defeat to American Jessica Pegula
Emma Raducanu crashed out of the China Open after squandering three match points in a round-of-32 defeat to Jessica Pegula; the American will face Marta Kostyuk; Sonay Kartal wins to reach last 16; watch the ATP and WTA Tours, live on Sky Sports in 2025
Monday 29 September 2025 16:27, UK
British No 1 Emma Raducanu crashed out in the third round of the China Open after suffering an agonising 3-6 7-6 (11-9) 6-0 loss to American Jessica Pegula.
Pegula saved three match points in the second-set tie-break as she dug deep to complete a stunning comeback, racing through the deciding set to book her place in the last 16.
Raducanu made a strong start to the match, winning the first set and leading that crucial tie-break 5-2, but she then failed to take her chances and Pegula capitalised.
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Having received a bye through the opening round, Raducanu began the tournament with Saturday's straight-sets win over Cristina Bucsa.
This promised to be a far tougher assignment but the 22-year-old Briton seized the initiative with an immediate break of serve and looked assured for long periods.
Amid some ferocious hitting, Raducanu blasted a backhand winner to bring up set point before completing the job in style with a fine forehand from inside the baseline.
Since beating Emma Navarro in the Miami Open in March, Raducanu had lost eight matches in a row against top-10 players.
Fifth seed Pegula offered greater resistance in a tighter second set but was forced to battle back from the brink of defeat to force a decider.
World No 32 Raducanu, watched by her Chinese mother, appeared to have played two of her three match points perfectly but they - and ultimately the tense tie-break - somehow went the way of her opponent.
Momentum quickly shifted in favour of 31-year-old American Pegula as Raducanu's display drastically dropped off.
The 2024 US Open runner-up cruised through the final set and will face 23rd seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the next round after securing progression in two hours and 21 minutes.
"That was a crazy match," Pegula said after her victory.
"It was a lot of fun. The tie-break was intense, but I got myself back in and kept the pressure on. When she [Raducanu] hit the double fault, I knew I was still playing some good tennis and it was right there. I got a little lucky with my two backhand winners.
"Other than that I tried to keep fighting for as long as I could. The crowd was awesome, this court has been good to me and I’m excited to play here. I’m happy I got through tonight and I’ll try to rest and recover."
British interest in the tournament now rests on the shoulders of Sonay Kartal.
The 23-year-old, ranked 81st in the world, triumphed 6-3 6-2 against Australian Maya Joint to set up a last-16 meeting with world No 5 Mirra Andreeva.
Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek defeated Camila Osorio for her 400th career win and advanced to the fourth round.
Swiatek showed no signs of slowing down as she dismantled her Colombian opponent 6-0 in the first set, before Osorio retired from the match in the opening game of the second set.
"For sure, I'm sorry for Camila, because she's always giving her 100 per cent," Swiatek said. "But overall, like besides that, I feel like I played good in the first set and really used my game to push Camila."
Alcaraz rallies past Ruud to book Fritz final in Japan Open
World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a slow start to beat Casper Ruud 3-6 6-3 6-4 and reach the Japan Open final, where he will meet second seed Taylor Fritz with the chance to claim his eighth title of the year.
American Fritz earlier saw off compatriot Jenson Brooksby 6-3 6-3 with flawless serving in tough moments to reach his third final of the season after claiming grasscourt titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne.
"I served insanely well today," said 2022 champion Fritz, who sent down 13 aces. "A high percentage of first serves... hit a lot of lines. It felt like any game I didn't hit three aces, he was putting a ton of pressure on me, outplaying me from the baseline most of the match.
"I was just able to hang in it with my serve and apply the scoreboard pressure and then capitalise on the mistakes that he made, play a couple of good points and get a break in both the sets but really, my serve got me through it."
Jannik Sinner showed his battling qualities to reach the China Open semi-finals with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.
Up next for the four-time major champion is Australian third seed Alex De Minaur, who reached the semis when Czech 20-year-old Jakub Mensik retired from their match with a left leg injury while trailing 1-4 in the opening set.
American teenager Learner Tien reached his first ATP Tour semi-final after fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti retired trailing 4-6 6-3 3-0. The Italian appeared to be hampered by a thigh or groin issue.
Eighth seed Daniil Medvedev eased past German second seed Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-3.
