Emma Raducanu, the British number one, was knocked out of the Australian Open in the second round after losing in straight sets to Coco Gauff.
The 77th-ranked Raducanu performed admirably against the seventh-seeded American, but her lack of experience cost her the match, 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
Before the Melbourne major, the 20-year-old had been battling an ankle issue.
Raducanu’s defeat means that she has not advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam since her surprising US Open victory in 2021.
Gauff, a teenager who made headlines by making it to the Wimbledon round of 16 as a 15-year-old in 2019, is one among the favorites to win the championship at Melbourne Park.
“I told myself to hang in there, Emma played really good tennis towards the end of the match,” said 18-year-old Gauff.
“It was a good quality match for the most part. This was a long anticipated match-up so I’m glad it was a good match for the crowd.”
Aiming for her first Grand Slam triumph, Gauff will face Chinese 29th seed Qinwen Zheng or fellow American Bernarda Pera in the third round on Friday.
