Emma Raducanu: British No 1 makes French Open first-round exit at Roland-Garros to Solana Sierra of Argentina
Emma Raducanu, with just one match under her belt heading into Roland-Garros, suffers defeat to Solana Sierra of Argentina but world No 102 Fran Jones wins; Watch the ATP and WTA Tours live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app
Sunday 24 May 2026 19:25, UK
Emma Raducanu suffered an early French Open exit to clay specialist Solana Sierra of Argentina on opening Sunday of the second Grand Slam of the year.
Raducanu, playing in just her second match since March following two and a half months out with a post-viral illness, went down to a 6-0 7-6 (7-4) defeat to Sierra, ranked No 68 in the world at Roland-Garros.
Raducanu's Grand Slam got off to the worst possible start as she was bageled in the first set to Sierra in just 25 minutes.
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A tally of no winners and 15 unforced errors told its own story, with Raducanu's US Open-winning coach Andrew Richardson, with whom she reunited earlier this week, unable to inspire the same sort of magic.
The British No 1 did get on the board at the start of the second set but fell 4-1 down.
Sierra, 21, is very at home on clay, and made a surprise run to the fourth round of Wimbledon last year. She kept her opponent at arms length until serving for the match at 5-4 when Raducanu struck to break back.
They traded breaks again as the match headed into a tie-break and it was Sierra who took charge with her attacking game-style to seal victory in an hour and 45 minutes on Court 13.
It is only Raducanu's third time playing in the tournament but this was the first occasion she has failed to make it to the second round.
The 23-year-old will now hope she can stay healthy and find her groove on the grass, where she has normally played well.
Jones breaks Grand Slam duck
There was better news for British tennis as Fran Jones recorded her first win in a Grand Slam main draw.
Jones, ranked world No 102, battled back to defeat Beatriz Haddad Maia 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 and move into the second round.
Born with Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia, a genetic condition that means she only has three fingers and a thumb on each hand and seven toes across both feet, Jones forged ahead with a tennis career against the odds. And, on her sixth occasion in the opening round of a Grand Slam, Jones was finally able to claim victory.
Jones was 2-0 and 4-2 down in the second set but began to find some momentum, putting behind her the disappointment of seeing two set points slip away serving at 6-5 to claim the tie-break.
She trailed 2-0 in the deciding set as well but from there did not look back, reeling off six games in a row.
Tearful Kostyuk says family in war-torn Kyiv were on her mind during win
Marta Kostyuk broke down in tears at the end of her first-round win before revealing a Russian missile almost struck her family home in Kyiv.
The 15th seed woke up to news of a major Russian attack on Ukraine overnight that killed four people and injured around 100.
One missile came within 100 metres of hitting the house in the Ukrainian capital where Kostyuk's mother, sister and great aunt were inside.
After giving an emotional speech on court, in which she described the 6-2 6-3 win over Oksana Selekhmeteva as one of the most difficult of her career, Kostyuk walked into her press conference with a picture on her phone of the scene of destruction.
"This is what I received at 8am today," she said. "I had to live through it and deal with it and go out and play.
"I didn't know what to expect from myself. I didn't know how my focus is going to be, how I'm going to be able to control my emotions or my thoughts.
"There were obviously times in the match when I would go back to thinking about it, because most of the morning I felt sick just for my thought that, if it was 100 metres closer, I probably wouldn't have a mom and a sister today.
"I think the beginning of full-scale war was probably the most difficult [moment] because you don't know what's going on. My whole family was there. We had 17 people in the house.
"Right now I think it was just the closest that it has ever been to my house, and this is what probably makes it the most emotional. There are better days, worse days, but this one was, I would say, top three worst ones, for sure."
Kostyuk has been one of the most outspoken players about the continued horrors being inflicted on her country and refused to shake the hand of Selekhmeteva at the end of the match despite the 23-year-old having switched nationality from Russian to Spanish on the eve of the tournament.
American 26th seed Hailey Baptiste recovered from a set down to eliminate 2021 French Open and 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.
What's happening on Monday at the French Open?
The first round of the French Open continues with British qualifier Toby Samuel, 23, taking on Australian eighth seed Alex de Minaur first up on Court 14 at 10am BST, while fellow Brit Katie Boulter faces American world No 185 Akasha Urhobo third on Court 8.
Four-time champion Iga Swiatek, world No 2 Elena Rybakina and newly crowned Italian Open champion Elina Svitolina among the top seeds in action.
Meanwhile, former champion Stan Wawrinka and home favourite Gael Monfils prepare to bid farewell to Roland-Garros ahead of retirement.
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