Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina conceded their doubles semi-final during the first set at the Washington Open after the British star made concerning comments. The pair were 4-1 down in the first set to Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai before handing their opponents a walkover.
Raducanu is also through to the last four of the singles, after beating Maria Sakkari on Thursday. The 22-year-old fought back from 5-2 down in the second set to win 6-4 7-5. She’ll now play Russian star Anna Kalinskaya on Saturday in her first tournament semi-final since her remarkable 2022 US Open win.
Should she win, it’ll be a poignant final against Leylah Fernandez, her final opponent at Flushing Meadows, or doubles partner and third seed Rybakina. Indeed, the doubles development is not a surprise given Raducanu’s comments in the aftermath of her win over Sakkari.
Admitting she struggled with the searing heat, she was asked about the prospect of fulfilling her doubles commitments. Describing the conditions as being on a “different level,” Raducanu notably offered no assurances she’d play.
“I’m not feeling the best right now, so I just need to go and speak to the doctors,” she said. The world No.46 also admitted to doubting whether she could go the distance had her Greek opponent forced a deciding set.
“It was one of the toughest matches, conditions-wise, I have ever played in,” she said. “Those points in the second set, I was getting a bit wobbly. I’m just happy I could close it out, and it was two sets.
“I think you get to a point where you’re so tired that you don’t really know what you’re doing anymore, and I think maybe that helped. I was also thinking if this goes to three sets, I don’t know how I’m going to do it.”
It’s been an impressive week so far from Raducanu, who will regain the status of British No.1 after the tournament. Before playing Sakkari, he beat seventh seed Marta Kostyuk in the first round and overcame four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka on Thursday.
For all the latest tennis news you can join our WhatsApp community here.