Emma Raducanu missed her opportunity to become the latest British singles champion at the Queen’s Club Championships.
Raducanu beat the likes of Iva Jovic and Sorana Cirstea to reach the final of Queen’s, which was the biggest final of her career since winning the 2021 US Open.
The Briton was just one win away from claiming her home WTA title, but Raducanu was beaten by Donna Vekic in the Queen’s final.
This has extended the wait for a home British winner of the Queen’s women’s singles title, with the last coming 57 years ago.
Ann Jones is the last British woman to win Queen’s
The WTA Tour returned to the Queen’s Club last year after a 52-year absence from the women’s calendar.
During the time since women’s tennis was away from Queen’s, Britain has seen Andy Murray win a record five singles titles and one doubles title at the tournament.
How far do you think Emma Raducanu will go at Wimbledon after watching her at Queen’s?
However, the last British woman to win the singles title at Queen’s came in 1969, when Ann Jones claimed the title.
Jones was the defending champion coming into the 1969 Queen’s tournament, having shared the title with Nancy Richey in 1968 after the final was cancelled due to rain, and she made it to the final once again.
The final went ahead on this occasion, with Jones beating her fellow Brit Winnie Shaw 6-0, 6-1 to claim the Queen’s title once again.
This was Jones’ 116th career title and put her in good stead heading into the Wimbledon Championships.
How did Ann Jones perform at Wimbledon in 1969?
Going into Wimbledon in 1969, Jones had already won two Grand Slam singles titles at Roland Garros in 1961 and 1966.
Jones had never won her home Grand Slam at Wimbledon, having lost to Billie Jean King in the 1967 final, and was the fourth seed going into the 1969 tournament.
The Briton was dominant en route to reaching the quarter-finals, with Jones dropping just 11 games in her first four matches.
Jones then beat fifth seed Nancy Richey in the quarter-finals, before coming from a set down to beat top seed Margaret Court and return to the Wimbledon final.
She would play King in the final once again, and Jones lost the first set of the Wimbledon final once again.
However, this time Jones would fight back to beat King 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to claim her third Grand Slam singles title and first at Wimbledon.
Jones is the last British woman to win the Wimbledon singles title, and Raducanu will now be looking to follow in her footsteps after her run to the Queen’s final.