British number one Johanna Konta says she has "a lot to smile about" after her latest Grand Slam bid ended in a US Open quarter-final defeat.

Konta made the last eight for a third successive Grand Slam, but lost 6-4 6-4 to Elina Svitolina in New York.

The world number 16 reached the French Open semi-finals and the Wimbledon quarter-finals earlier this year.

"It's nice to feel that I've still got room to just get better in the sport," Konta, 28, said.

Reflecting on her Grand Slam results, she added: "It is the best I have done so far in my career so there is a lot to be proud of there.

"It is just part of the sport - only one person ends up not losing, everyone else does lose at some point."

Konta almost dropped out of the world's top 50 towards the end of last year and again at the end of April after a disappointing start to the season where she failed to progress past the third round of a tournament.

But a fine clay-court season culminated in a shock run to the French Open last four - at odds with her previous form on the surface - and she backed that up with further runs deep runs at Wimbledon and the US Open.

However, she was unable to replicate her gutsy last-16 win over Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova against Ukrainian world number five Svitolina, who outclassed her on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday.

"Obviously, I wanted to go one step further and be in the semi-finals and the final, and lifting the trophy," Konta said.

"I think I definitely need to look at the good things I did, the great matches I played and the tough opponents I beat and take good things from the really tough opponent who I lost to.

"The season is not finished, I'm pleased with how I feel I'm getting better throughout the season.

"I still feel like I'm evolving and developing and just improving."

Her performance at Flushing Meadows is likely to lift her to 11th place in the world rankings when they are published next Monday and if she can continue her good form over the next few weeks she could still stake a claim for a debut place in the WTA Finals - the season-ending tournament for the year's top eight players in Shenzhen, China.

"I'd love for that to be a part of my schedule," Konta said. "But there are so many moving factors with that. So many things depend on how other people are doing."