Laura Robson loses on her competitive return after injury

Robson last competed competitively in last year's Australian Open

Former British number one Laura Robson suffered a heavy defeat on her return to action at Eastbourne after 17 months out with a wrist injury.

Robson, 21, lost 6-0 6-1 to Russia's Daria Gavrilova, the top seed in qualifying for the Aegon International.

In windy conditions, Robson double-faulted four times in her first service game and went on to lose in 58 minutes.

The Briton had taken a wildcard as she is without a ranking, having been as high as 27 in the world in 2013.

Her last competitive appearance was a first-round defeat at last year's Australian Open, and wrist surgery followed in April.

Despite the defeat, Robson said she was happy to be playing again after such a long absence from the sport.

"I've definitely felt worse, but also felt better," said the former Wimbeldon junior champion.

"I think in a way it was a victory to just finish a match and be back on court, back playing tournaments. It was a lot closer than the score suggested.

"I've come out, I know what I can do and I still have so much work to do."

The qualifying tournament proved to be of an unusually high standard, with Gavrilova ranked 41st in the world after reaching a WTA Premier semi-final last month in Rome.

The Russian, 21, took the first seven games, fending off two break points along the way, and it was 40 minutes before Robson got her one and only game of the match.

After the match, Robson went on Twitter to thank fans for supporting her

Robson must now wait to find out whether she will be given a wildcard for Wimbledon.

Beyond that, she has a protected ranking of 58 - her position after the 2014 Australian Open - which will allow her to enter eight WTA tournaments.

Six of the world's top 10 female tennis players are competing in Eastbourne, as well as British number one Heather Watson and US Open champion Sam Stosur.

The Wimbledon warm-up tournament runs from 20 to 27 June and among the Britons in action in the first round will be Johanna Konta, who will take on world number 34 Zarina Diyas.

British wildcards Naomi Broady and Harriet Dart face equally tough opening-round opponents in Sloane Stephens and Dominika Cibulkova respectively.

In the Birmingham Classic, fourth seed Angelique Kerber will meet sixth seed Karolina Pliskova in Sunday's final after the German beat Sabine Lisicki 6-3 6-3. Czech Pliskova overcame Kristina Mladenovic 6-2 7-6 (7-6) in her semi-final.