Emma Raducanu finally made her return to the court in Strasbourg, but came up just short in a tense opening-round loss as she continues her build-up to the French Open.

The former US Open champion had been out for more than two months after recovering from a post-viral illness, with her last appearance coming at Indian Wells. Given a wildcard into the WTA 500 event, she faced France’s Diane Parry and lost 6-4, 7-6 in a match that swung back and forth for more than two hours.

Raducanu started brightly, finding sharp backhand winners and racing into a 4-2 lead, but momentum shifted as double faults crept in and Parry clawed her way back to take the first set.

The second set turned into a tug of war, with Raducanu saving multiple break points and digging in to force a tiebreak, but Parry held her nerve to close out the win.

It was also Raducanu’s first match working again with coach Andrew Richardson, the man who guided her during her US Open triumph. While the result didn’t go her way, she showed flashes of sharp movement, fought off 16 break points, and stayed competitive deep into the contest.

With limited clay-court preparation now before the French Open, Raducanu heads to Paris outside the seeded spots after slipping in the rankings during her absence.