Emma Raducanu appears to have found reason to smile after narrowly missing out on the biggest title of her comeback.
The British tennis star, 23, was spotted looking loved-up with PR executive John Friend, 32, just hours after finishing runner-up at the Queen's Club Championships on Sunday.
In photos obtained by The Sun, the pair were seen strolling hand in hand through Battersea Park in south-west London before stopping to sit on a bench, where they embraced and shared an affectionate moment.
An onlooker told the outlet: "Emma and her partner looked like they didn't have a care in the world as they wandered through the park.
"They looked completely besotted. You'd never have guessed she'd suffered such a disappointing defeat just a few hours earlier.
"Any frustration seemed to have melted away. They were cuddling and chatting without a care, despite plenty of people being around.”
Raducanu has previously spoken about how relationships were discouraged during her younger years, saying: "My parents were very much against it because it interfered with training."
She previously dated financier Carlo Agostinelli between 2023 and 2024 and has been the subject of speculation over her friendship with fellow tennis star Carlos Alcaraz.
Earlier that day, Raducanu missed out on a maiden grass-court title after she was defeated in the final at Queen’s Club by Donna Vekic.
Although the run marked another encouraging step in the former US Open champion's return to form ahead of Wimbledon.
The British No1 had won twice on Saturday to reach Sunday’s showpiece on Andy Murray Arena, overcoming an injury scare in her quarter-final victory over Kamilla Rakhimova, having to leave the court after a slip.
She returned with strapping on her left thigh, and she pushed through the pain to close out that match and move into the last four, where she breezed past the dangerous Iva Jovic in straight sets to tee up a showdown with Katie Boulter’s semi-final conqueror Vekic.
Raducanu was beaten 6-0 7-6(6) by the Croat, who was admitted into the main draw as a lucky loser having lost in qualifying.
The Londoner is scheduled to feature as a wildcard entry at the Nottingham Open next week, but it remains to be seen whether she will follow through on that commitment after a mammoth physical expenditure in west London.
Other options for her are the Eastbourne Open the week after next, but that could come too soon ahead of Wimbledon, where she is looking to better her best runs, to the fourth round in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
