Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter were defeated in the second round of the women’s doubles at Queen’s Club.
They were beaten 6-2 7-5 by top seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Routliffe in the first warm-up tournament ahead of Wimbledon.
The British No1 and 2 formed an unlikely partnership in the first event of the grass-court swing, as the prestigious Queen’s hosted female players for the first time.
Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, and Boulter, the British No1, had never played together previously, and their opening match on Monday marked just the second time that Raducanu had played doubles in her professional career.
However, their collaboration in west London was brought to an end by Kichenok and Routliffe, who had beaten the pair’s compatriots Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage in the opening round.
Raducanu and Boulter started promisingly on Court One, forcing two break point opportunities in the opening game, but ultimately squandering both, and they were subsequently breached themselves in the following game, unable to dash the No1 seeds’ break advantage for the remainder of the opening set.
Things went from bad to worse for the Britons, as they were broken once more to concede first blood.
The second set was more closely contested as Raducanu and Boulter were cheered on by the home support, but they were broken to go down 3-1, with Kichenok and Routliffe finally converting a third break point.
The British duo rallied and levelled proceedings at 4-4, breaking to love before holding comfortably, and they carried that momentum into the ninth game, earning four break-point chances yet passing them all up.
That would be their undoing in the end, as they were fatally broken one final time with an hour and 25 minutes on the clock.
The pair’s attentions will now turn back to the singles event, where they both progressed into the last 16.
Raducanu beat Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa 6-1 6-2 on Tuesday, while Boulter came through in three sets against the tricky Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6(4) 1-6 6-4 on the newly-named Andy Murray Arena.
Heather Watson also progressed into the second round with a straight-sets victory over Yulia Putintseva, but there will be no clean sweep of British ladies in the last 16 after Burrage and Francesca Jones were both beaten.
Kartal was dispensed of in short order as she fell 6-1 6-3 to American contender Amanda Anisimova, bringing her Queen’s Club campaign to a prompt close.
Raducanu will face the Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova on Thursday, while Boulter takes on fifth seed Diana Schnaider.
