Wimbledon 2025: Emma Raducanu says third-round defeat against Aryna Sabalenka 'hard to take' after impressive performance on Centre Court

Emma Raducanu has said her straight-sets defeat against Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon was "hard to take". The 22-year-old delivered an impressive performance against the world No. 1 on Centre Court, but was ultimately beaten 7-6(8-6) 6-4. However, the Brit said she will "take confidence" from her display, having previously felt she was "gulfs away" from the game's top players.

Emma Raducanu of Great Britain reacts against Aryna Sabalenka during the Ladies' Singles third round match on day five of The Championships Wimbledon 2025.

Image credit: Getty Images

British No. 1 Emma Raducanu said her third-round defeat against Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon was "hard to take", following a tightly-fought contest on Centre Court.

Raducanu put pressure on the world No. 1, with the opening set lasting 74 minutes, but she was eventually beaten in straight sets, losing 7-6(8-6) 6-4.

Speaking after the match, an emotional Raducanu said: "It's hard to take a loss like that. At the same time, I'm playing Aryna, who is a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today.

WTA Wuhan

Paolini claims maiden win over Swiatek - 'Finally, I won a match'

10/10/2025 at 19:44

"It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top.

"Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence. At the same time, it's very difficult to take right now."

The 22-year-old Brit certainly did have her chances on Friday night, with the opportunity to serve out the opening set at 6-5, a set point in the tie-break, and a break point while leading 4-1 in the second set.

But the power of three-time major winner Sabalenka proved too much for Raducanu, with the Belarusian storming to the finish line, winning five games on the spin to close out the match.

However, there were plenty of positives to take for the world No. 40, who showed vast improvements from her recent Grand Slam tournament performances.

Raducanu frequently outclassed Sabalenka, who has reached the final of five of the last six Grand Slam tournaments she has competed in.

The Brit broke her opponent’s serve three times during the match and showed excellent grit to save seven set points at 5-4 in the first.

It comes following one of the best wins of Raducanu’s career in the second round, knocking out 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets.

Sabalenka was impressed by the performance of her opponent, saying on court after the win that she expects Raducanu to return to the top 10 "soon".

Heavy Swiatek loss 'shows distance I have to improve' - Raducanu

Video credit: TNT Sports

Sabalenka said: "She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard. To get this win, I had to fight for every point like crazy."

The Belarusian later added: "She's fighting. She's playing much better. She's more consistent. I can see that mentally she's healthy. I think that's really important. Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's getting there."

Sabalenka will face 24th seed Elise Mertens on Sunday as she looks to claim the first Wimbledon title of her career.

Having struggled to land on a settled coaching set-up, Raducanu started working with Mark Petchey, a former coach of Andy Murray, on a casual basis earlier this year.

His introduction appears to have been pivotal to the 22-year-old's upturn in form, with the Brit describing him this week as an "11 out of 10" coach.

However, she is unsure of whether the partnership will continue, given the initial agreement for him to come in until the end of Wimbledon.

"It's very difficult," Raducanu said. "He obviously also has his commentating commitments.

"He agreed to help me until the end of Wimbledon, and then we see from there, because he gave up some work to work with me here, which I really appreciate, and I'm grateful for.

"That's a conversation that we need to have after a few days and the dust settles a little bit."

Watch the Wimbledon singles finals and daily 90-minute highlights shows live on TNT Sports and discovery+

Tennis