Emma Raducanu is out of the Auckland Classic after falling to a 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 defeat by second seed Elina Svitolina in the second round.
The Briton, playing her second match since wrist and ankle surgeries, raced into a 5-1 lead in the first set before taking it in the tie-break.
Svitolina won the second after another tie-break and, with Raducanu tiring, took the third in just 31 minutes.
Next up for Raducanu is the Australian Open, which begins on 14 January.
The 2021 US Open champion was playing with fairly heavy strapping on her right thigh but went toe to toe with world number 25 Svitolina before fading after an intense first two sets that each lasted more than an hour.
While Raducanu’s focus turns to the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, Svitolina progresses to the Auckland quarter-final where she will play Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova.
Encouraging signs in defeat for Raducanu
After a hard-fought victory over Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round, this was another gruelling encounter for Raducanu as she continues her return from injury.
The 21-year-old began well to go a double break up but was twice unable to convert when serving for the first set.
However, she showed her resilience in the breaker, setting up her first set point with a drop shot and – after a double fault – converting the second with a deft forehand.
Svitolina came fighting back at the start of the second with Raducanu saving two break points in the opening game, only for Ukraine’s former world number three to convert the third.
Raducanu broke back immediately, but Svitolina made it three games against the serve in a row to restore her advantage.
Again, Raducanu hit back though with another break to make it 3-3 and from there it stayed on serve to set up another tie-break.
The Briton went up 3-1 before Svitolina reeled off six straight points to level the contest and never looked back.
Raducanu was showing signs of fatigue with two unforced errors gifting Svitolina a pair of break points in the first game of the third set. They were repelled, with a third saved with an ace, but a double fault eventually gave Svitolina the break.
There was no way back for Raducanu, who looked understandably weary after a long injury absence from the tour, and an energised Svitolina ruthlessly finished the job.
Elsewhere, Harriet Dart beat second seed and world number 93 Nao Hibino 6-3 6-0 to reach the Canberra International semi-finals.
It is the first time in Dart’s career that she has won a set 6-0 against a top 100 opponent on a surface other than grass.
World number 120 Dart will face American Katie Volynets for a place in the final.
Meanwhile, Oliver Crawford, who has two parents from Birmingham, has this week switched his nationality from the United States to Great Britain.
The 24-year-old from South Carolina, who has a world ranking of 215, becomes the British number nine, and earned his place in Australian Open qualifying with impressive results on the ITF and ATP Challenger Tours in the latter months of 2023.
His only previous appearance in Grand Slam qualifying came at the 2022 US Open, where he lost in the first round to Geoffrey Blancaneaux of France.