Emma Raducanu retires injured trailing against Daria Kasatkina in ...
Published 21/09/2024 at 07:53 GMT
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Emma Raducanu retired injured in her Korea Open quarter-final against Russia's Daria Kasatkina, bringing to an end a promising run at the tournament.
The former US Open champion took a medical timeout for treatment on her foot after the fifth game and after Kasatkina wrapped up the opening set 6-1, she decided she could not continue.
But she looked uncomfortable throughout the opening stages of her match against Kasatkina, an in-form player who had beaten her in straight sets in both their two previous meetings.
The top seed, Kasatkina is ranked 13th in the world, 67 places above Raducanu, and it took her just 30 minutes to breeze through the opening set.
Raducanu had served well against Yuan, and although she managed to break back on Friday after losing her opening service game, Kasatkina continued to pile the pressure on to immediately break once more.
The British No. 2 lost the next two games and took a medical timeout for treatment on her foot, but her discomfort continued and she was broken to love as play resumed. The Russian then served out the set, at which point Raducanu decided to retire.
"First of all, I feel sorry for Emma for retiring during the match," Kasatkina said. "It's a pity to get injured, especially in the deeper stages of the tournament.
"I wish her a speedy recovery to get ready for the next tournament. I know that this swing is important for her."
Injuries have dogged Raducanu's young career: she underwent surgery on both wrists and her ankle last year, and while she has produced some strong performances on her return this year, the 21-year-old has continued to be hampered by a lack of match fitness.
Heavy rain in Seoul forced the cancellation of all play on Friday, pushing the quarter-finals back to Saturday.
Raducanu has previously said how important the autumn hard-court swing in Asia was as a goal for her, having enjoyed good results there in the past, including the semi-finals in Seoul in 2022.
She will be hoping to be fit enough for her next scheduled event, the WTA 1000 China Open, which begins on Wednesday in Beijing.
At the newly-upgraded 500 level Korea Open, Kasatkina will next play compatriot Diana Schnaider or Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk for a place in the finals. The schedule for the remainder of the tournament has been condensed due to the rain delay, with the semi-finals also taking place later on Saturday.
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