Emma Raducanu ended her breakthrough season with a 1-6, 7-6(0), 5-7 defeat to World No 106 Wang Xinyu in the second round of WTA 250 event in Linz.
But it wasn’t without controversy.
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The 18-year-old Brit, who emerged as the surprise winner of US Open, took a medical timeout just before her opponent served for the match at 5-4.
Wang, 20, got off to a blistering start and clinched the opener in just under half an hour as her deep returns forced the top seed into several errors.
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Raducanu was unable to match her opponent, who won over 85% of points on her first serve.
The 18-year-old Briton responded well in the second set, breaking in the first game following a rare error from Wang before the Chinese qualifier hit back with a break of her own at 3-4.
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Raducanu, however, outclassed Wang in the tie-breaker, striking a flurry of winners to win seven straight points and force a decider.
There were no break points in the decisive final set until Wang powered through a love break for 5-4.
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Raducanu then called the trainer on court for a injury for what appeared to be an injury to her right leg.
Serving for the match, Wang squandered two match points as Raducanu pulled back level at 5-5, but the Chinese player quickly gritted out another break for 6-5.
Torben Beltz is the new coach
Raducanu has appointed German Torben Beltz as her new coach, she confirmed after the defeat.
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“It’s obviously a great privilege to be working with such an experienced coach. I’m definitely very excited to work with him throughout the pre-season and into next year,” Raducanu, who had been the top seed in Linz.
“Very positive feeling about all the work there is to come.”
