Emma Raducanu suffered a narrow first-round defeat in Strasbourg as she returned to action after more than two months away from the WTA Tour.
The British number one has been recovering from a post-viral illness and had not played since a third-round defeat by Amanda Anisimova at Indian Wells in March.
Granted a wildcard for the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg, her return did not go to plan as she fell to a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) defeat by French home hope Diane Parry.
It means Raducanu will have played just one match on clay before the French Open – the second Grand Slam event of the year – starts on Sunday.
After a 10-week absence from the Tour, Raducanu has slipped from 23rd to 37th in the world rankings and she will not be seeded at Roland Garros.
Playing her first match since reuniting with coach Andrew Richardson – who helped guide her to the US Open title as a teenage qualifier – Raducanu got off to a strong start in France, spraying fierce backhand winners down the line and moving nimbly around the court as she broke for a 4-2 lead.
But double faults started to creep into her game and Parry reeled Raducanu back in before taking charge to wrap up the opener.
After saving five break points to stop Parry from pulling away early in the second set, Raducanu briefly rediscovered her rhythm to strike first – only to watch the world number 94 break back immediately again.
The Frenchwoman broke again to go 5-4 up, but Raducanu held firm to stop Parry from serving out the victory on two occasions and force a tie-break.
After whacking the ball into the stands in frustration, Parry regained her composure to eventually see out the straight-set victory after two hours and 26 minutes.
While the loss limits Raducanu’s preparation for the French Open, there are positives to take for the Briton as she heads to Paris.
She looked relaxed as Richardson dished out instructions and encouragement from the player’s box, while she showed resilience in fending off 16 break points and making it difficult for Parry until the end.
Parry will face either China’s Zhang Shuai in the second round after she defeated Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5.
