Emma Raducanu knocked out of Eastbourne quarter-final as Wimbledon preparations take a hit

She reached the semi-final in Nottingham last week and pulled off an incredible win over world No 5 Jessica Pegula on Wednesday to reach the last eight in Eastbourne.

That victory was her first over a player inside the world's top 10 and set up another tough test against Russian tennis ace Kasatkina.

She had to come back from a set down to beat the American on Wednesday and she got off to a similarly slow start against Kasatkina.

The 27-year-old broke Raducanu's serve in two consecutive games to take a significant advantage before serving out for the set.

Both players were struggling with the windy conditions in the second set with neither doing well on their own serve.

There were six breaks of serve throughout the set with Raducanu failing to win any of her own service games.

Kasatkina eventually served out for the match with Raducanu's focus now turning to the start of Wimbledon next week.

She was given a wildcard into the main draw to avoid going through the qualifiers.

But her run to the quarter-finals of Eastbourne means she will be the new British No 3 by the start of Wimbledon after overtaking Lily Miyazaki in the rankings.

A strong performance at Wimbledon could see Raducanu climb back into the world's top 100, which could prove crucial in her bid to play in the US Open.

But as a wildcard, Raducanu is at risk of being drawn against a top seed in the first round of Wimbledon.

Iga Swiatek is the top seed with defending champion Marketa Vondrousova the No 6 seed.

British No 1 Katie Boulter is also seeded at Wimbledon for the first time in her career, meaning she will avoid the likes of Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka.

LATEST SPORT NEWS:

• Gary Lineker told to 'be better' and 'there's a way to articulate yourself' amid stinging England criticism
• England missing three players in training but get Luke Shaw boost ahead of Slovakia Euro 2024 clash
• Andy Murray backed to form 'dream team' with Emma Raducanu as Wimbledon decision 'to be made at last moment'

The Wimbledon draw takes place on Friday at 10am with the first round getting underway on Monday.

Raducanu missed last year's Wimbledon Championships as she had undergone surgery on both her wrists just a few weeks prior to the tournament.

Andy Murray is a doubt on whether he will play and has said he will make a decision 'as late as possible'.