Emma Raducanu missed out on a maiden grass-court title after she was defeated in the final at Queen's Club by Donna Vekic. The British No.1 had won twice on Saturday to reach Sunday's showpiece on Andy Murray Arena, overcoming an injury scare in her quarter-final victory over Kamilla Rakhimova, having to leave the court after a slip.
She returned with strapping on her left thigh, and she pushed through the pain to close out that match and move into the last four, where she breezed past the dangerous Iva Jovic in straight sets to tee up a showdown with Katie Boulter's semi-final conqueror Vekic.
Raducanu was beaten 6-0 7-6(6) by the Croat, who was admitted into the main draw as a lucky loser having lost in qualifying. Vekic, the world No76, reached the last four at Wimbledon back in 2024, and she has refound her love of the turf as we move towards the grass major.
Raducanu, 23, was eyeing a first title since her stunning 2021 US Open triumph, and one that would have meant even more coming on home soil, but she was punished for a sloppy opening set, where she was ruthlessly bagelled.
She showed fight in the second, staving off three championship points at 6-5 down. Vekic served for the title in the tiebreak, but could not convert her fourth as Raducanu clung on, but the inevitable happened when the fifth came around, as a final forehand flew wide of the target.
Raducanu has been plagued by injury and illness throughout this year, which has hampered her ability to climb up the WTA rankings as she eyes a seed in the main draw at Wimbledon in two weeks' time.
Her run to the final here will see her move just outside the top 30, which could see her land one of those precious places in the bracket. The world No42 looked as though she was playing through pain - in a similar area to where she injured herself on Saturday - and while she showed terrific spirit to rally in the second, she could not find that cutting edge to force a decider, spurning two chances to serve it out.
"What a week - it's been an incredible week for me to reach the final," Raducanu said afterwards. "Donna played superbly from start to finish."
The 23-year-old is scheduled to feature as a wildcard entry at the Nottingham Open next week, but it remains to be seen whether she will follow through on that commitment after a mammoth physical expenditure in west London. Other options for her are the Eastbourne Open the week after next, but that could come too soon ahead of Wimbledon, where she is looking to better her best runs, to the fourth round in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
