The sun-drenched Andy Murray Arena at Queen’s Club was charged with anticipation on June 13, 2025, as Emma Raducanu, Britain’s newly reinstated No. 1, faced off against top seed and Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals of the HSBC Championships. The match, part of the first WTA 500 event at Queen’s in over half a century, promised a clash of styles on the slick grass courts. Raducanu, riding a wave of momentum after dominant victories, was poised to bolster her Wimbledon seeding prospects. However, her campaign ended in a 6-2, 6-4 defeat, marred by a controversial moment that drew boos from the partisan crowd and highlighted a little-known tennis rule.
Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, had been a standout at Queen’s, her grass-court prowess evident in straight-set wins over Cristina Bucsa (6-1, 6-2) and Rebecca Sramkova (6-4, 6-1). These victories, coupled with Katie Boulter’s loss to Diana Shnaider, secured Raducanu’s return to the British No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2023. Her performance against Bucsa, a rematch after a grueling three-set loss in Singapore earlier in 2025, was particularly commanding, with Raducanu unleashing nine consecutive games to assert her dominance. “I was quite locked in today,” she said after the Bucsa match, crediting the electric crowd support. Against Sramkova, despite a shaky moment when a 5-0 lead slipped to 5-4, she regained composure to advance, noting, “I am really pleased to get through that. I don’t think it was my cleanest performance, but I am really pleased to push through in the tight moments.”
The quarter-final against Zheng, however, tested Raducanu’s resilience in new ways. Early in the first set, with Zheng leading 3-2 and holding a break point, the Chinese star paused the match to change her shoes, citing discomfort on the slippery grass. As Raducanu waited, she fired a practice serve down the court—a move that sparked murmurs of disapproval from the crowd and caught the attention of BBC commentator Annabel Croft, who remarked, “I don’t know if Raducanu is meant to hit a ball like that. She’s just practiced a serve and normally you’re not meant to do that!” USTA rules stipulate that warm-up serves should occur before the match begins, and while chair umpires have discretion, Raducanu’s impromptu serve was a cheeky breach of etiquette. The crowd’s frustration grew as Zheng later halted play again to swap her racket, prompting sarcastic claps and scattered boos. “Now what?” muttered a spectator courtside, as the home favorite held serve to love amid chants of “Come on Emma.”
Despite the interruptions, Zheng’s powerful shot-making overwhelmed Raducanu. The Brit, struggling with a recurring back issue that required a medical timeout before the second set, initially surged to a 3-0 lead in the second. “I have been struggling with my back since Strasbourg,” Raducanu later admitted, downplaying concerns but acknowledging the physical toll. Zheng, however, battled back, leveling the set with an overhead smash that kissed the line, drawing gasps from the crowd. Raducanu’s errors mounted—double faults and a wayward forehand on match point sealed her fate. “She kind of took away one of my bigger strengths [returning],” Raducanu reflected, frustrated by Zheng’s relentless aggression. The top seed, apologetic for her delays, explained, “I want to apologise for my shoes. I didn’t want to fall two times, but I just don’t know how to run on grass.”
Raducanu’s spirited run at Queen’s, which included a doubles campaign alongside Boulter that ended against top seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Routliffe (6-2, 7-5), showcased her growing confidence on grass. “I was actually very nervous before the [doubles] match. Probably more nervous than the singles,” she confessed, highlighting the novelty of her partnership with Boulter, dubbed “Boultercanu” by fans. Despite the quarter-final loss, Raducanu’s performances signal a promising lead-up to Wimbledon, where she aims to leverage her 2021 fourth-round showing. Zheng, advancing to her first grass-court semi-final, praised Raducanu’s experience on the surface, admitting, “It was a really difficult match for me, especially [because] she has got more experience than me on the grass court.”
As Raducanu left the court to a standing ovation, the boos for Zheng’s delays faded, replaced by hope for the 22-year-old’s Wimbledon campaign. With her ranking climbing to No. 36 and a potential seeding in sight, Raducanu’s Queen’s exit, though abrupt, underscores her resilience and potential to shine on home soil.
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