Paris, France: Emma Raducanu was swept aside 6-0, 6-2 by Romanian Sorana Cirstea on Saturday in the final of the Transylvania Open, the Briton’s first title match since her shock victory at the US Open in 2021.
Four and a half years after becoming the first player in the Open era to win a Grand Slam from the qualifying rounds in New York, the tournament’s top seed got off to a disastrous start in the Romanian city of Cluj, conceding the first eight games to her opponent.
Trailing 6-0, 2-0, Raducanu won her first game on her opponent’s serve, before asking to have her blood pressure taken at the changeover.
Clearly not at her best, the 23-year-old nevertheless managed to level the match at two games all before conceding the last four and losing in just over an hour.
