Why Was Emma Raducanu Forced To Retire From Wuhan Open Clash Vs Ann Li?

Emma Raducanu (Picture Credit: AP)

British number one Emma Raducanu was forced to retire midway through her first-round match against Ann Li at the Wuhan Open due to reported dizziness. United States’ Li won 6-4, 4-1 by virtue of a walkover.

Raducanu started the match well, forcing a volley to break Li in the opening game. However, she progressively appeared listless. Li went on to win the next game of the first set in a few minutes. The world number 46 then began to dominate, forcing Raducanu into unforced errors on her forehand, apart from several aces.

After Raducanu double-faulted to fall behind a double break in the second set, the Briton was visited on court by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) physio and tournament doctor and had her blood pressure and temperature checked, calling it quits following that consultation.

“First, I want to wish Emma a fast recovery,” Li said after the match. “Not sure what [happened]but [it] looked like she wasn’t feeling good. But yeah, tough match last time, so I knew it was going to be tough, but I wish her to feel better, but yeah, I’m happy with my performance, I wasn’t pretty solid the entire match.”

Raducanu is the latest player to crumble in tough conditions across China this week, with temperatures rising up to 35 degrees Celsius with over 60 % humidity consistently in Wuhan.

Earlier this week, play was suspended on all outdoor courts due to the heat. Defending champion Jannik Sinner also retired with cramp in the third round of the Shanghai Masters this week, while 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic vomited during his win over Yannick Hanfmann.

Earlier, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek had also criticised the ‘overwhelming’ scheduling in tennis.

Raducanu is going through a bit of a career trough, having suffered disappointing defeats to Barbora Krejcikova at the Korea Open and Jessica Pegula in Beijing. The race for a seeded position at the Australia Open is getting difficult by the day.

“Yeah, I think it was hard for me,” she had said recently. “The last two matches that I lost, I had match points in both. And it’s not something that’s really happened to me before and then to happen twice in a week was pretty new to get my head around.”