Emma Raducanu was beaten by Danielle Collins at the WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg.
Raducanu beat Daria Kasatkina in her opening match in Strasbourg, setting up a meeting with the former Australian Open finalist.
Despite taking an early lead, Raducanu was beaten by Collins in a closely fought three set match.
There were also concerns for Raducanu, as she struggled with an injury problem that forced her to take a medical timeout towards the end of the second set.
Emma Raducanu pinpoints the two things she wants to improve on clay
Raducanu has impressed on clay this year, highlighted by reaching the fourth round of the Italian Open for the first time.
However, when speaking to press after the match, Raducanu admitted that she still has things to improve on the surface, pointing out two things in particular.
“I guess I think I have been trying to run for more balls, test my defence out,” said Raducanu. “But I can’t just rely on defence, especially playing someone like Danielle so I think I need to improve other areas of my game.
“Be more offensive. Have a better serve. It’s building on the clay, it was a good couple of matches this week so I guess we will see from here.”
Raducanu’s shortcomings were particularly highlighted against the aggressive game of Collins, who hit over double the number of winners in their match.
Emma Raducanu says what she thinks about Strasbourg after exiting the tournament
It was the first time that Raducanu had played at the WTA tournament in Strasbourg, as she accepted a late wildcard in a bid to get some more match practice on clay.
When discussing her experience in the Alsace region of France, Raducanu was full of praise for the tournament.
“It is a really pretty city,” said Raducanu. “I have not seen all of it. I only went to go and see the cathedral but walking around is really nice. It’s a really friendly tournament and I love the feel to it and the crowd was really good.”
Raducanu was then asked if she plans to return, as she suggested that she hopes to be able to enter the tournament based off her ranking in future.
“I hope so!” responded Raducanu. “Hopefully my ranking is high enough next year and if not hopefully I will be invited back.”
Raducanu will now look to recover from her back issue, as she heads to Paris for her second appearance at the French Open.
