Emma Raducanu’s Wuhan Open debut came to a disappointing end as the Brit was forced to retire while trailing Ann Li 6-1 4-1. It was another brutally hot day in Wuhan, and Raducanu visibly struggled in the conditions.
The world No. 30 called the tournament medical staff to the court and had her vitals checked before she decided to call it quits. Raducanu’s retirement comes just days after she suggested she wanted to stay tough, with things getting harder as the season went on.
It’s been a long year for Raducanu, who has made an effort to enter more tournaments and get as many matches in as possible. With the finish line now in sight, the former US Open champion knew it would be a survival of the fittest in her last few tournaments of the year.
“I feel like the depth in the game is a lot higher than when I won (US Open) in 2021. I think just everyone is a lot higher level,” the 22-year-old told Tennis365 ahead of her opening match.
“Everyone’s physically fitter, and the ball comes faster as well. So I think it’s, it is harder now to make those big achievements and I am really happy with how I’ve been tracking in the last few months. I’m just looking forward to continuing to do my work day to day as best as I can.
“We’re at the part of the season where it’s getting a little bit harder. You know, the body starts to hurt a little bit more, and it’s a bit harder to get moving.
“But I feel like I can’t be the only one in that situation, so I just need to try and stay tough and mentally as well, and go for as long as I can.”
But Raducanu wasn’t able to last as long as she would have liked in Wuhan, where she was making her tournament debut. Ranked at No. 30 in the world, a few wins would have boosted her position in the rankings next week.
The British No. 1 still attempted to stay on the court and battle it out for as long as she could. Raducanu was visibly struggling throughout but waited an hour to call the doctor, getting an extensive evaluation before retiring.
The heat and humidity have taken a toll on plenty of players in Wuhan – Dayana Yastremska retired on Monday, and Karolina Muchova admitted that she didn’t know whether she’d be able to finish her own match before beating Marta Kostyuk.
With just a few WTA 250 and 500-point tournaments left for the year, it’s not known whether Raducanu will end her season or enter more events to get her ranking up.
The Brit has made it no secret that her main goal is to be seeded for January’s Australian Open, meaning she would have to be inside the world’s top 32 the week before the tournament gets underway. As it stands, she would make the cut.
