Emma Raducanu lost on her return from a foot injury as Great Britain were knocked out of the United Cup with a group stage defeat to Greece.
Raducanu, 23, had not played since early October after what she described as “mild bone bruising” on her right foot and withdrew from her scheduled season opener against Japan’s Naomi Osaka on Sunday due to the same problem.
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With the decision seen as precautionary, Raducanu returned to court on Monday for a draw whose victory would have secured Britain’s place in the quarter-finals.
There were encouraging signs for Raducanu in a 6-3 3-6 6-1 defeat of Greece’s Maria Sakkari – moving freely during extensive training, often striking the ball with quality and showing a fighting spirit to level the match.
But the British number one naturally showed some rust before running out of steam in a physical competition.
Great Britain missed the chance to win Group E in the mixed team event as Raducanu followed Billy Harris into losing singles matches that could have gone either way.
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Raducanu is ranked 29th in the world after an encouraging 2025 season, but the foot problem has failed to allay concerns about the fragile nature of her body.
Breaking 51st-ranked Sakkari’s serve in the opener was the perfect start to her comeback and the 2021 US Open champion’s movement seemed unhindered as she drove her right foot towards the forehand.
Although his ball striking was often crisp and damaging, Raducanu did not find the same consistency from the baseline as his opponent.
The Greek former world number three reversed the early deficit and won the first set by winning six of the last seven games, then held off four break points in the second game of the second set before taking Raducanu’s serve for a 2-1 lead.
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Raducanu, however, has developed more resilience over the past 12 months, showing that determination again as she fought back to level the match.
However, his level dropped sharply during the decisive decision. Sakkari – who had lost their previous four meetings – quickly kicked off the last five games with little resistance from Raducanu.
Billy Harris (right) is a latecomer to the top level and is still trying to break into the world’s top 100 for the first time (Getty Images)
Earlier, Harris came close to securing the most notable victory of his career before losing 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) to two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The British number five pushed Tsitsipas all the way in an intense contest, but the former world number three – who fell to 34th in the rankings after struggling for form and fitness – showed his courage to pull through.
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Harris, 30, played at a level well above his ranking as he moved two points ahead to win at 6-5, but Tsitsipas recovered from 0-30 down to hold and his vast experience showed in a tiebreak that Harris, 127th, opened with a double fault.
“I was tired of losing matches like that, so I did everything in my power to make sure it didn’t happen again. I’m grateful to have survived that,” Tsitsipas said.
“Billy put in an incredible performance, I haven’t played a match of this quality in a long time. He did a great job of pushing me to my limits.”
Big names lose but Swiatek survives
World number four Coco Gauff was undone by 14 double faults and 54 unforced errors as she suffered a surprise defeat in singles – but recovered in doubles to help the UNITED STATES beat Spain to reach the quarter-finals.
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Gauff lost 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-0 to 42nd-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro as the two-time major champion’s nine-match unbeaten streak in the United Cup – winning six singles matches and all three of her doubles matches – came to an end.
An early top-five win from Bouzas Maneiro gave Spain a 1-0 lead before Taylor Fritz leveled the tie after saving a match point against Jaume Munar in the men’s singles match.
Gauff returned alongside Christian Harrison for the mixed doubles, beating Inigo Cervantes and Yvonne Cavalle 7-6 (7-5) 6-0 to secure the reigning champions at the top of Group A.
In Group F, world number three Alexander Zverev suffered a surprise defeat as Germany were beaten by Poland.
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Zverev lost 6-3 6-4 to former top 10 player Hubert Hurkacz, who was playing his first competitive match since June.
Hurkacz, who has fallen to 83rd in the rankings since injuring his knee seven months ago, triumphed to give Poland a 1-0 lead in Sydney.
Six-time major champion Iga Swiatek secured victory for Poland, although she had to fight back from a set down to avoid a shock defeat to Eva Lys.
Lys had never won a set in her three previous meetings against the world number two, but was unable to maintain her level in a 3-6 6-3 6-4 defeat.
