Coco Gauff suffered back-to-back defeats in her respective doubles matches as her hopes of an Olympic gold medal were dashed at Roland-Garros. 

In her first game of the day, Gauff teamed up with world number six Jessica Pegula to face Czech Republic duo Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova. 

After taking the first set, Gauff and Pegula were unable to continue their momentum, falling to a 6-2 4-6 5-10 defeat. 

The American pairing started strongly and raced into an early lead, taking the opening set in what seemingly looked like a straightforward victory for Team USA. 

However, Muchova and Noskova rallied and in a second set that saw five break points converted by both, the Czech's would prevail to take the game to a decider. 

Gauff and Pegula lost four straight games to put their opponents in the ascendency, with Muchova and Noskova able to see out the win to progress to the quarter-finals. 

Gauff emerged back onto the clay courts in the French capital for her mixed-doubles match soon after, joining Taylor Fritz to face a Canadian pairing of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski. 

The American duo would come from a set down to take the game to a decider, but it would be their opponents who emerge 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 8-10 victors. 

Gauff and Fritz exchanged blows with the Canadians, but were edged out in a first set tie-break after losing four games on the spin. 

But not wanting to let their dreams of a medal die, the American pair would recover from losing an early break point to rally and earn one of their own in the eighth game, seeing out the win to take Gauff to her second third-set decider of the day. 

However, the same result would transpire, with Auger-Aliassime and Dabrowski edging a nail-biting conclusion to book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition. 

Emma Raducanu says the best is yet to come as she continued her excellent form by making it through to the quarter-final of the Stuttgart Open.

The 2021 US Open champion beat Linda Noskova 6-0 7-5 in Germany to set up a mouth-watering last-eight tie with world number one Iga Swiatek on Friday.

Raducanu is making her way back after a torrid 2023 but looked excellent in winning her two ties in the Billie Jean King Cup at the weekend and then followed that up by swatting home favourite Angelique Kerber aside in Wednesday’s first round.

She stepped it up again to dispose of the world number 31 to set up a repeat of the 2022 quarter-final with Swiatek.

Despite all her troubles since winning the US Open in 2021, Raducanu never doubted the good times would return.

“I am not too surprised because I have been working really hard on the training court and I knew it was just a matter of time,” she said in her on-court interview.

“This isn’t my best I still have a long way to go. I am just really happy the rewards are starting to come on the match court.

“You know how it is when you are training day in, day out you feel like the results aren’t going your way. It is never that far away, that is something I am learning.

“Going through everything I have been through gives you a different appreciation, there is nothing like playing in front of fans and playing good tennis.”

Her progress will face its toughest test when against the Polish world number one, who is a master of the clay court, but the Briton knows she is not under any pressure.

Raducanu, whose world ranking of 303 will shoot up, added: “We played here two years ago in the quarters, I have come a long way in two years, and she has achieved a lot, I have nothing to lose, I can swing and enjoy it.

“Hopefully recover in time. I’m good.”

Dayana Yastremska is two wins away from emulating Emma Raducanu after beating Linda Noskova to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.

Raducanu is the only qualifier ever to win a grand slam title but Yastremska increased her tally of wins in Melbourne to eight with a 6-3 6-4 victory on Rod Laver Arena.

The stories are not exactly comparable, given Yastremska was ranked 21 in the world as a 19-year-old before serving a six-month provisional suspension for a failed doping test, for which she was later deemed to bear no fault.

But it is nevertheless a very impressive run from the Ukrainian, now 23, who is set to soar back into the top 30 from her current ranking of 93.

She is the second qualifier in the open era to reach the last four here in the women’s singles after Australian Christine Dorey in 1978.

Yastremska said: “I think it’s nice to make history because at that time I still wasn’t born. I’m super happy, and tired. I arrived here on January 3. On the days when I have a match, they do go very fast. When I have a day off, it feels like I’ve been here for six months already.”

This was a contest of first-strike tennis, with both women looking to seize the initiative in rallies as early as possible.

But it was the extra power of Yastremska that made the difference, with the Ukrainian hitting 19 winners compared to only six for 19-year-old Noskova.

“I don’t really feel like I’m playing really good,” said Yastremska, who has beaten Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and two-time winner Victoria Azarenka during her run.

“I just try to play like I can and take the maximum from myself. Everything I have left is just fighting.”

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