Laura Robson's struggles continued as she suffered a 6-2 6-2 loss to Andrea Petkovic in the opening round of the French Open.
It was an extremely tough tie for Robson, the lowest-ranked player in the women's draw, against a player seeded 28 who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros two years ago.
Since 2014 and the start of the wrist problems that have derailed her career, Robson has not beaten a top-100 opponent and is languishing at 329 in the rankings.
After her protected ranking, under which she was playing here, runs out next month, Robson will find herself having to battle it out on the low-key ITF circuit.
Her ability to hit winners remains but too often the 22-year-old relies solely on her power and a tally of 37 unforced errors in 16 games against Petkovic told its own story.
Robson, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2013, will now hope for some morale-boosting wins on grass, which is a more natural surface for her.
Source: PA
