Emma Raducanu kicked off her 2025 Wimbledon journey with a lot of hope, but unfortunately, it wrapped up with a loss to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Seeded British No. 1 and playing in front of a home crowd, Raducanu really put up a fight in her first two rounds—she managed to get past Mimi Xu and former champion Marketa Vondrousova—before running into Sabalenka’s strong baseline game. In a thrilling first set that lasted more than 70 minutes, Raducanu fought hard, coming back from several set points to push it to a tie-break.

However, Sabalenka’s steady play and strong serve made all the difference, allowing her to take it 7-6. The second set kicked off with Raducanu taking charge, jumping to a 4‑1 lead and really getting the crowd at Centre Court fired up with her bold shot-making. But Sabalenka stayed cool and came back strong to win the match 6‑4.

Raducanu found herself in a familiar situation: she put up a strong fight, but in the end, came up short when it really counted. She faced another tough loss in the third round, which just adds to her frustrating pattern of not making it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, even though she shows moments of real talent.

Sabalenka expressed her admiration for her British opponent after the match, saying, “First of all, she played incredible level and secondly, the crowd. I mean I played enough in the in the States against American and there it’s like super crazy and honestly I’m super grateful that people were respectful and really polite during the points and even though they were cheering her for her between the points during the point, I was able to focus and they were really polite once again.”

But you know, there was more going on than just the game on the court. According to a report by Express, Emma Raducanu’s financial haul from Wimbledon is impressive—but the tax is set to take close to half. She made £152,000 (approx $207289.22) after leaving in the third round, which is an improvement from the £99,000 (approx $135010.74) she would have gotten for finishing in the second round.

Furthermore, Paul Barham, a tax partner at Forvis Mazars, shared with Express, stating, “Assuming that Emma is an additional rate taxpayer (with other income over £125,140), the tax rate that will apply to the prize money will be 45 per cent resulting in a UK tax liability of £68,400. Assuming Emma is resident in the UK, she is also likely to have Class Four National Insurance to pay at two per cent on this income resulting in a National Insurance liability of £3,040. Therefore, her take home pay after tax and NIC would be £80,560.”

Wimbledon 2025 is shaking things up with a whopping £53.5 million (approx $72.96 million) prize fund! The singles champions are set to take home £3 million (approx $4.09 million), while players like Raducanu, who exited in the third round, will still pocket a cool £152,000. What the players get, however, is an entirely other tale. But how did she feel after her Wimbledon defeat?

Emma Raducanu took her lesson from this heartbreaking Wimbledon run

After the match, in the press conference, Emma Raducanu fought back tears, saying, “I think I’m just very self-critical. It’s hard to see. Of course, I’m very proud of being competitive on the court. I think I would rather that than it being completely one way. But yes, there are positives. Right now it’s so soon after the match. I think it’s better for me to kind of feel a bit of the pain right now and then process it better that way.”

The British tennis star highlighted how crucial it is for her to embrace the pain of losing. She thinks that by sitting with those tough feelings now, she’ll be able to heal and reflect better down the line. Furthermore, she shared a few more words, stating, “I think it’s difficult to see that right now, having just come off. It’s hard. It’s hard to take a loss like that. At the same time, I’m playing Aryna, who is No. 1 in the world, a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today.”

Raducanu acknowledged the tough task of going up against the world’s top player and keeping her cool. She emphasized that she needs to embrace the disappointment first to really understand how much progress she’s made. By facing the pain directly, she’s looking to create a solid base for meaningful growth, believing that this honest reflection will boost her motivation as she moves ahead.