London, May 19 -- Emma Raducanu suffered a narrow first-round defeat in Strasbourg as she returned to action after more than two months away from the WTA Tour.
The British number one has been recovering from a post-viral illness and had not played sincea third-round defeat by Amanda Anisimova at Indian Wells in March.
Granted a wildcard for the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg, her return did not go to plan as she fell to a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) defeat by French home hope Diane Parry.
It means Raducanu will have played just one match on clay before the French Open - the second Grand Slam event of the year - starts on Sunday.
After a 10-week absence from the Tour, Raducanu has slipped from 23rd to 37th in the world rankings and she will not be seeded...