Emma Raducanu, 22, suffers blow less than two weeks after Wimbledon exit
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The former US Open champion enjoyed an impressive return to form at Wimbledon
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Emma Raducanu has tumbled down the world tennis rankings following her third-round departure from Wimbledon, sliding from 40th to 45th position.
The 22-year-old's defeat to world No1 Aryna Sabalenka cost her the British No1 ranking she previously held.
The former US Open champion's 7-6, 6-4 loss on Centre Court means she now sits third amongst British women players.
Her drop of five places in the WTA rankings came despite earning praise for her performances at SW19, where she secured victories against Mingge Xu and Marketa Vondrousova before facing Sabalenka.
Emma Raducanu has dropped five rankings after her third-round exit
PAKatie Boulter has inherited the British No1 position, currently ranked 41st in the world.
The 28-year-old maintained her ranking despite falling in Wimbledon's second round to Solana Sierra after defeating Paula Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in her opening match.
Sonay Kartal now occupies the British No2 spot at world No44.
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Katie Boulter will no occupy the British No1 spot despite an underwhelming Wimbledon campaign
Reuters
The 23-year-old enjoyed the deepest run of the British women at Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round with victories over Jelena Ostapenko, Viktoriya Tomova and Diane Parry before losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Both players have leapfrogged Raducanu in the rankings despite her reaching the third round at SW19.
The match against Sabalenka proved agonising for Raducanu, who held a set point in the opening set and secured a break point whilst leading 5-1 in the second set.
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Despite these opportunities, the Belarusian world No1 fought back to secure victory.
"It's hard to take a loss like that," Raducanu said during a tearful interview. "At the same time, I'm playing Aryna, who is a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort.
"It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top."
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Emma Raducanu was impressive despite her third-round exit
ReutersDespite the defeat, Sabalenka offered encouraging words about Raducanu's progress and future prospects.
"She's fighting," Sabalenka said. "She's playing much better. She's more consistent. I can see that mentally she's healthy. I think that's really important. I'm pretty sure she's getting there."
The Belarusian, who claimed both the Australian Open and US Open titles last year, went further in her assessment of the British player's potential.
According to the sources, Sabalenka later tipped Raducanu to return to the top 10 "soon", suggesting she believes the 2021 US Open champion can recapture her best form.