Madrid Masters
British trio make early exits in Spain
Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter hit the exits on Friday at the Madrid Masters, with the pair of British hopefuls fell to second-round losses.
Raducanu lost a thriller to Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 while double Grand Slam and sixth seed Jasmine Paolini accounted for Boulter 6-1, 6-2 in barely an hour.
Raducanu was trialling yet another coach in the form of former ATP player Mark Petchey.
The British No. 2 came and went after sitting out a month of play since last competing in Miami.
Sonay Kartal ended British women’s singles participation as she completed a hat-trick of losses on the day, going down to Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-1.
At the top of the women’s draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka hammered Anna Blinkova 6-3 6-4 while 2024 Australian Open finalist Zheng Qinwen was stunned 6-4 6-4 defeat by Anastasia Potapova.
Spain’s Paula Badosa, ninth in the world, pulled out of her home event with a nagging back injury which has clouded her past several seasons.
Main photo:- Top seed Aryna Sabalenka winning in Madrid – by WTATennis.com