Emma Raducanu’s streak of wins ended with a 7-6 (2), 6-3 loss to Iga Świątek, the top-ranked player, in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix on Friday.
Raducanu, who is ranked 303rd, had been playing very well lately. She won two Billie Jean King Cup matches last week and then secured two more wins to reach the quarterfinals in Stuttgart.
Despite her good form, Raducanu couldn’t overcome Swiatek, who seems set to win the Stuttgart tournament for the third consecutive year as she prepares for the French Open next month.
“It was a tough match, so I’m glad I could maintain the intensity even though we played tough games for two hours,” Swiatek said.
When asked if Raducanu could return to challenging for titles, Swiatek expressed hope for her but acknowledged the challenge ahead.
In the match, Raducanu initially broke Swiatek’s serve but couldn’t maintain the momentum, eventually losing the first-set tiebreak and falling behind in the second set.
Next up for Swiatek is a match against Elena Rybakina, who defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in their quarterfinal after coming back from a break down in the deciding set.
Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine had a tough match against third-ranked Coco Gauff, needing eight match points to win 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6) in their quarterfinal.
Gauff managed to save three match points when she was down 5-4 in the deciding set and four consecutive match points in the tiebreak. Kostyuk herself had saved five match points in her previous match against Zheng Qinwen.
“It’s a very close match,” Kostyuk said. “It feels amazing to reach the semifinals here.” Next, Kostyuk will face Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová, who surprised second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the semifinals for the first time since winning Wimbledon last year.
This was Sabalenka’s first quarterfinal appearance since winning the Australian Open in January.
