Emma Raducanu is THRASHED 6-1, 6-1 in just 62 MINUTES by Marketa Vondrousova

Emma Raducanu’s physical fragility returned to haunt her as she hobbled to defeat On Saturday in the Billie Jean King Cup.

The British number one was beaten 6-1 6-1 by Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic as Great Britain went 2-1 down with two rubbers left to play.

Raducanu’s latest ailment was a blister on her right foot which required an off court medical timeout after the first set for treatment.

In bitingly cold temperatures of 6 degrees she came back on but could not move properly, and although she kept plugging away she could not prevent a loss in 62 minutes.

A strange passage of play ensued at the start of the second when Raducanu was clearly discomfited. This also had the effect of scrambling the Czech player’s mind, who began to miss easy shots before recovering her composure and cruise home to victory.

On Friday Raducanu scored an excellent win against Tereza Martincova, but had spoken of losing her toenails as she learns how to slide on the brown dirt, which she had not played on since the 2018 French Open juniors.

This appeared to take its toll towards the end of the first set against Vondrousova, which was played out in frigid conditions which saw both courtside captains wrapped up like they were in a ski resort.

Saturday’s win for Vondrousova has put Czech Republic 2-1 up in the Billie Jean King Cup

From the start this was something of a schooling on clay for Raducanu, as she tries to get used to the sport’s most demanding surface.

There are few players who have mastered it better than the elegant lefthander Vondrousova, who reached the French Open final three years ago.

She is an absolute natural on clay, as opposed to grass, upon which the British teenager beat her at Wimbledon last year.

While Raducanu assessed the damage – she is due to play again next week in Stuttgart – her team were left with an impossible looking task to win the tie against one of the powerhouse nations of the women’s game.