Emma Raducanu spurned match points for the second week in a row as the British No 1 fell to a three-set defeat to Jessica Pegula at the China Open in Beijing.
Raducanu looked to be surging to an impressive win over the world No 7 Pegula as she led 5-2 in the second-set tiebreak, having taken the first set with some eye-catching play.
But mistakes from the 22-year-old opened the door for Pegula to stay alive and she could not take any of her three match points, as the fifth seed eventually prevailed 11-9 to force the decider.
From there, the American won six games in a row to race to the finish line and wrap up a battling 3-6, 7-6 (11-9), 6-0 win in two hours and 23 minutes.
Raducanu – whose mother is from China and watched on from courtside – made a sharp exit and offered a brief wave to the crowd after shaking hands with Pegula at the net.
Her latest defeat comes just a week after she also missed three match points against Barbora Krejcikova at the Korea Open, with two of them also coming in the second-set tiebreak.
After a bright start, Raducanu similarly faded once the match entered the third set, with two-time grand slam champion Krejcikova winning 4-6, 7-6 (12-10), 6-1 in a remarkably similar scoreline.
The manner of the defeats and her inability to put both matches away could be damaging for Raducanu as she enters the final weeks of the season looking to build her ranking ahead of the Australian Open.
Raducanu’s team and her coach Francisco Roig may also be concerned with how the British No 1 faded and appeared to lose energy once the matches entered a third set.
Raducanu has also lost her last four tiebreaks in a row and has only won five of her 13 matches that have gone to three sets this season.
And while Raducanu showed promise in winning the first set against Pegula, the former US Open champion has now lost her last nine matches against top-10 opponents.
Raducanu lost to Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open and French Open, lost twice to Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon and Cincinnati and went out of the US Open after a bruising loss to Elena Rybakina.
Raducanu, who also lost a three-set tussle to Pegula at the Miami Open quarter-finals in March, is aiming to build her ranking ahead of the Australian Open in January but this was a missed opportunity.
US Open semi-finalist and fifth seed Pegula said Raducanu’s double-fault while leading 5-4 in the second-set tiebreak was a key moment and admitted she got “lucky” on two of the match points.
“That was a crazy match,” Pegula said after setting up a last-16 clash with Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. “It was a lot of fun. That was really intense but I got myself back into the tiebreak.
“When she hit the double-fault I knew I was playing well and it was right there. I got a bit lucky when I hit the backhand winners. But I just tried to keep fighting for as long as I could.”
