Emma Raducanu comes close to huge win in Beijing but fails to use 3 match points

Emma Raducanu was close to recording one of the biggest wins of her tennis career at the 2025 China Open, but she couldn't use any of the three match points that she had.

Raducanu has been playing great tennis in recent weeks. She is on the brink of returning to the Top 30 in the WTA Rankings, which means she will become a seeded player at Grand Slams and most of the WTA 1000 events.

She played a great match against Aryna Sabalenka in Cincinnati, which proved that her level can be exceptionally high; however, her last two events ended in disappointment. Raducanu played at the Korea Open in Seoul and, despite having three match points in her second-round match against Barbora Krejcikova, she ultimately lost that match.

Now, she nearly identically recreated that match in Beijing. In the third round, Raducanu took on Jessica Pegula, who is currently ranked seventh in the world. The British player has managed to beat a player ranked in the Top 10 only three times. Her most recent Top 10 win came against then-world No. 10 Emma Navarro at this year's Miami Open.

Raducanu played a great first set against Pegula. She saved four out of five break points she faced while using two out of three chances that she created to break the American's serve. That efficiency was one of the main reasons why the 30th seed won the first set.

Raducanu broke early to lead 3-0 despite facing break points in both of her service games at the start of the match. She then lost her one-break advantage despite having another break point to lead 5-1. Instead, it was 4-3, with Pegula back on serve.

But the British player came with her best level in the closing stages of the opening set, eventually winning it 6-3. She played exceptionally at the start of the second set as well, leading by a break, but she quickly lost that advantage.

Raducanu immediately had two chances to break again, but after she failed to use that, both players then held their serves for the remainder of the set. That meant a tie-break had to decide the winner of the second set.

Raducanu opened better, leading 5-2. She then had three match points at 6-5, 8-7, and 9-8, but she couldn't use any of those chances. It was a very similar tie-break to that she played against Krejcikova, in which she also had match points but lost it 10-12.

This time, Raducanu lost the tie-break 9-11, and what followed in her third set of the match against Krejcikova also happened against Pegula. After coming so close to a win but not getting over the line, Raducanu mentally stagnated and struggled to put the ball in play.

She lost the third set against Krejcikova 1-6, and this time, she couldn't even win that one game. Ultimately, Raducanu lost to Pegula 6-3, 6-7(9), 0-6. The American player will now play against Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round, while Raducanu will shift her focus to the upcoming Wuhan Open.