Emma Raducanu misses out on personal milestone in Washington loss after skipping Olympics
Emma Raducanu lost to Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals
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Emma Raducanu missed out on a chance to reach her first semi-final at a WTA 500 event in two years after losing to Paula Badosa at the Washington Open on Friday.
Raducanu was originally given a spot in Team GB's squad to play in the women's singles draw at the Paris Olympics, but she turned down the chance to play for her country.
The 21-year-old instead wanted to focus on getting ready for the US Open and didn't want to change back to claycourts.
It looked to be an inspired choice as she made a strong start to the tournament with wins over Elise Mertens and Peyton Stearns to reach the quarter-finals.
Emma Raducanu lost to Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals
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A number of the top seeds were missing as they were competing at the Paris Olympics.
That opened the door for Raducanu to make a deep run at a WTA 500 event for the first time since reaching the semi-finals of the Korea Open in 2022.
And she looked on course to match that feat after taking the opening set against fellow wildcard Badosa.
However, the former world No 2 battled back to force a deciding set before seeing out the competitive contest.
"She was playing amazing and she took me to the limit," Badosa said.
"I knew I had to play aggressive. At the beginning I was missing a little bit and I had to adjust but she was also making me miss.
"I've never played her so it's the first time I've experienced her and I was surprised how smart she is on court. I really like how she plays. It was a very nice fight."
Despite the loss, Raducanu will undoubtedly be buoyed by her progress in Washington.
Emma Raducanu took the opening set against Paula Badosa
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By reaching the quarter-finals, Raducanu has moved above Harriet Dart in the WTA rankings to become the new British No 2.
The 2021 US Open champion is now up to 69th in the world rankings as she edges closer to becoming a seeded player once again.
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Emma Raducanu has moved up in the rankings once again
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Raducanu's schedule leading up to the US Open remains unclear, but there are back-to-back WTA 1000 events in Toronota and Cincinnati to start August that will provide huge ranking points.
However, Tennis Canada have confirmed that Raducanu will need to go through qualifying in order to make the main draw of the Canadian Open.
The US Open gets underway on August 26 with Raducanu set to be included in the main draw.