Emma Raducanu’s return to the court after her sensational US Open triumph ended in defeat as she was beaten in the second round in Indian Wells.
It has been 27 days since the 18-year-old stunned the world to become the queen of New York in a fairytale story, but she could not reproduce that level in the Californian desert, going down 6-2, 6-4 to Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
That success at Flushing Meadows has catapulted Raducanu into stardom, attending the Met Gala and the James Bond premiere in her time away from the court, and she got a taste of her new life as she was given the headline slot in the Friday night evening session.
However, she could not live up to her billing as the super attacking style that served her so well at the US Open proved her downfall early on and then she squandered a lead in the second set as Sasnovich won four games in a row to seal victory.
More to follow.
