Twenty-five minutes was all it took for Emma Raducanu’s French Open campaign to unravel. Handed a 6-0 first-set bagel by the unseeded Argentinian Solana Sierra, the 23-year-old committed 15 unforced errors and failed to register a single winner in that opening frame. She fought her way back to force a tie-break in the second set, but ultimately succumbed 6-0, 7-6 (4) after one hour and 46 minutes on Court 13 at Roland Garros.
The defeat represents Raducanu’s worst performance at the tournament in three appearances — she had previously reached the second round in both 2022 and 2025 — and marks the first time she has failed to progress beyond the opening match in Paris.
Twenty metres away on Court 14, a very different drama was unfolding. Francesa Jones, Raducanu’s close friend, produced one of the defining wins of her career. Trailing 1-6, 0-2 against former world No. 10 Beatriz Haddad Maia, Jones mounted a stunning comeback to win 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 — her first Grand Slam main-draw victory in six attempts.
Jones, 25, was born with Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia (EEC), a genetic condition that leaves her with three fingers and a thumb on each hand, and seven toes across both feet. The condition has presented persistent physical challenges: she collapsed during a match in Bogota in April 2025 when her heart worked “a little too hard” at altitude, and earlier this year she suffered a bad fall in Melbourne, then a concussion from a freak gym accident. Clay is her favourite surface, and this is the first time she has made the main draw at Roland Garros. Her ranking sits around No. 102, with two WTA 125 titles and nine ITF titles to her name. Haddad Maia, by contrast, had not secured a main-draw win all season.
Raducanu’s fragile preparation
Raducanu arrived in Paris with minimal match practice. She had been sidelined for more than two months by a post-viral illness and could only point to a first-round loss in Strasbourg a few days earlier — her first match back — as preparation. That match, against Diane Parry, lasted more than two hours and, despite a lingering cough, Raducanu insisted she felt “health-wise, really good” and that her body had responded well. Nevertheless, she had withdrawn from several tournaments before the French Open, including the Italian Open, citing illness.
She has since returned to training with Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to the US Open title in 2021. But the lack of competitive rhythm was evident. From the opening game, Sierra punished Raducanu’s weak second serve and forced herself inside the baseline, pulverising any ball that landed short. Raducanu’s groundstrokes were described as impotent and erratic, her movement laboured, her serve weak. She faced no pressure from her opponent — Sierra, ranked No. 68, arrived in Paris after a strong clay-court season that had lifted her to a career-high ranking of No. 63 in January. A clay-court specialist with a career record of 163 wins and 67 losses (70.9%) on the surface, the 21-year-old had reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2025 as a lucky loser, and made the fourth round of the Madrid Open in April, as well as the third round of the Italian Open, where she lost to Coco Gauff.
The oppressive weather only compounded Raducanu’s difficulties. The opening day of the French Open was played under a heatwave that pushed temperatures to 31°C (88°F), with forecasts of 32°C in the following days. While not officially classified as a heatwave by Meteo-France, it was an unusually hot period for late May, and for a player returning from illness, the physical toll was significant.
A fightback that fell short
By the time Raducanu trailed 0-6, 1-4, the match appeared beyond reach. To her credit, she dug in, clawing her way back to 5-5 in the second set. But the pattern that cost her against Parry in Strasbourg repeated itself: poor serving in decisive moments allowed Sierra to regain composure and close out the tie-break 7-4. Raducanu’s serve, a persistent weakness in her game, let her down when it mattered most.
The defeat means Raducanu exits Roland Garros in the first round for the first time, a sobering outcome given the promise of her second-round runs in 2022 and 2025. For Jones, the victory is a testament to resilience. Having lost all six of her previous Grand Slam main-draw matches — including a retirement at the Australian Open earlier this year — she finally broke through on the clay she loves, on the same day her friend’s hopes were extinguished.
